Oh Summer Days
by Redpanda14
Summary: Modern AU: Merlin finds himself enrolled in the Camelot Summer Camp program. At first he believes it to be the worst summer of his life, but as the days progress he slowly finds himself wishing this summer would never end. Merlin/Arthur
1. The Worst Summer Ever

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Merlin, but if I did both of the boys would have their shirts off and be almost completely naked in every scene. _

**A/N: **_Hey guys, well here it is... my Modern AU. It's just an idea anyway, so if you think I should write more let me know and I'll continue it. Enjoy, and reviews are loved. =)_

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"But I don't want to go."

Since the moment Merlin arrived home from his last day of school for the semester, he had found himself thoroughly annoyed at his mother, who had enrolled him in the Camelot Summer Camp program that ran every summer holidays. It was quite typical of her. She hadn't even consulted him about it in the first place.

"Merlin," Hunith soothed, trying to calm her son down. "I realise how much you hate being around other people, but this will be good for you."

"Mum, please..." Merlin begged as he sat down in one of the living room chairs. The house was considerably small in contrast to other houses in the neighbourhood, but it was big enough. It had the basics; kitchen, dining room a bathroom which was also used as the laundry room, and two bedrooms. Simple, but Merlin preferred it that way.

"Don't _mum_ me," Hunith crossed her arms in disappointment. "This is a great way for you to make new friends."

"I have friends," Merlin lied under his breath as he began picking at the armrest.

"Gwen is _one_ friend, Merlin. Someone your age should have heaps of friends, not just one."

He knew she was right, but sure as hell he wasn't going to admit it. Merlin was the kind of person who didn't make friends easily. Instead he found it much easier to keep things to himself, the only person he really ever confined in was Gwen, who unlike everyone else at school, knew he was gay.

It had taken a while for Merlin to admit his feelings to himself, but once he had, he told the one person he knew he could trust. Thankfully she was completely fine with it, not to mention absolutely thrilled now that she could discuss who the cutest guy in the schoolyard was with him.

Unlike other people at school, Merlin preferred reading in the library in his spare time, especially to read all about myths and legends. Out of all the mythology and folklore that was around today, Merlin had found himself particularly drawn to Arthurian legends. I mean, come on, who doesn't like reading about sexy knights who go off to save the kingdom from dragons and other mythical beasts?

"Maybe I don't want friends," Merlin stated as he reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a book to read.

"You can complain as much as you want, but the form is already in and there's no turning back. The bus leaves tomorrow morning at eight," Hunith smiled warmly at her son as she walked over and placed her finger on the book, pushing it downwards so he was staring directly at his mother.

"But..."

"No buts," Hunith placed a soft kiss on top of his forehead. "Your bags need to be packed and ready by tomorrow morning. Give it a chance Merlin, who knows, you may even make some decent friends, and anyway, Gwen's going so you won't be totally alone. This is a chance of a lifetime, so get your nose out of those books and create your own legend for once."

Knowing that he had lost this battle long ago, Merlin sighed and headed towards his room, closing the door behind him as he flung himself onto the small bed.

Merlin was willing to give Camelot a chance, but he knew this very instant that he would not enjoy one moment of the camp. Not one bit.

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The following morning, Merlin made sure he had every packed that he needed for the next two weeks in purgatory. Once he was totally sure there was nothing left to add to the already overflowing bag, Merlin made his way to the front door where his mother was already waiting, jangling her car keys continuously in her hand until she spotted him.

"Great! Every packed?" he nodded unenthusiastically, although she didn't seem to notice. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Before long, Merlin was sitting in the back seat of the car with his bag sitting on the seat beside him. As the engine roared into life, Merlin began daydreaming out the window of the car as they began to drive down the highway to the bus stop.

"Cheer up," Hunith said softly as they turned off from the highway and onto a side road. "You'll have a great time, I know it. I only wish I ever got the chance to do something like this when I was a kid."

"Care to go for me then?" Merlin asked hopefully, only to receive a laugh from his mother.

"I'm fine," she said as the car slowed down, eventually coming to a halt. "Here we are."

Hopping out of the car he looked around, there were only about eight other kids here at the moment, but as each minute passed, more and more people pulled up to drop their kids off. The next car to pull up Merlin immediately recognised.

"Merlin!" Guinevere shouted out at the top of voice from over the road. Saying goodbye to her father with a kiss, she rushed over the road carrying her luggage, and gave Merlin a tight hug. "I didn't think you would come. This is going to be so much fun, just you wait!"

"Sure," Merlin replied as he scanned the area. Some of the boys and girls around Merlin knew all too well, two of them being Nimueh and Valiant who often enjoyed giving him a hard time in school. Though there were a few faces he wasn't familiar with, obviously they went to another school in the district.

"I need everybody over here quickly!" shouted a rather commanding voice from somewhere within the crowd. "Come on, hurry up!"

Hunith nudged him in the back, and immediately Merlin rushed over to where all the other kids were gathering in front of the bus.

"Welcome," the man greeted rather dryly. "For the next two weeks you will embark on a journey that may or may not change your life. It is my job to see that you all have a _fun _time. Now, I'm fairly certain most of you know each other, correct?"

There were a few slight mumbles within the group, not to mention many rolling of eyes, but Merlin was neither, he was too busy trying to spot anyone else he might know. Unfortunately besides Valiant, Nimueh and Gwen, he had no idea who everyone else was.

Although he didn't know who most of the people were, Merlin found his eyes being drawn towards a tall, striking blonde haired boy who was standing on the other side of the group. Even from such a far distance, Merlin couldn't help but stare at the attractive blonde, but looked away when he noticed Merlin staring at him and shot him a deathly glare.

"Now, as I call out your names please get onto the bus as we will be departing in about ten minutes. Oh, and for those of you who don't know my name already, my names Uther, and yes, my reputation does precede me so no funny business."

None of the adults seems phased by Uther's speech. Instead, they actually seemed to be nodding their heads in agreement as he began reading names out one by one. Each person left their bags in a pile in front of the open undercarriage of the bus as they stepped onto the vehicle.

_Valiant_

_Morgana_

_Freya_

_Lancelot_

_Arthur_

"He's cute," Gwen said, nudging Merlin in the side.

"He sure is..." Merlin replied, daydreaming as he watched Arthur hop onto the bus, it was only then that Merlin realised she was actually talking about Lancelot who had just winked at Gwen.

_Merlin_

___Guinevere_

"That's us!" Gwen said excitingly. Never in Merlin's entire life had he seen Gwen move so quickly, as she darted onto the bus and sat just in front of Lancelot. As Uther continued calling out names, Hunith turned Merlin around and began wiping his cheek clean with finger, everyone who was on the bus all glanced intensely out the window to watch.

"Mum," Merlin groaned. "You're embarrassing me."

"Oh?" she said standing back with a smug look on her face. "So I guess that means you're too old for a kiss as well then?"

Merlin took one look at the bus, then back to his mother, rolling his eyes as he kissed Hunith on the cheek lightly. He could hear laughter from the bus, which caused Merlin to turn around to see everyone either pointing or laughing except for the girl Morgana, Gwen and Arthur, who was studying Merlin deeply.

"Have fun, and don't forget to call!" Hunith called out as Merlin hopped onto the bus.

Finding a seat close to the front, Merlin waited as the bus driver and some of the parents helped put the luggage in the undercarriage of the bus.

As the door hissed shut, Uther sat at the very front, behind the bus driver. The driver pulled off the parking brake and pressed on the accelerator causing the bus to jolt into life, and start to move forward. All the parents outside began waving to their children, wishing them a great time. Hunith blew a kiss to Merlin, who smiled gently as they pulled away from the bus stop. It wasn't long before they were on the highway heading towards Camelot.

Resting his head on the back of the chair, Merlin began staring out the window longing for this camp to be over already. But somewhere in the reflection he saw Arthur staring at him from the other side of the bus. Merlin didn't dare turn around in case the handsome blonde attacked him or something along those lines – It was the last thing he needed, especially seeing that he had to spend two weeks with all these people.

Though there was something about the way Arthur was staring at him that didn't make him feel anxious or afraid, but instead it was almost calming. Smiling to himself, Merlin began to wonder if the summer camp would be as bad as he first thought. To be honest, he was beginning to look forward to it.

_To be continued..._

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_**A/N: **So guys, what did you think? If you think I should continued please review, I'm still fairly unsure about this story...._


	2. Day One

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Merlin, but if I did... Oh the things I would make them do... He he he_

**A/N: **_Okay, you guys win, I'm updating see? This is an update! I'm quite surprised quite a few of you liked the first chapter, however, how much you enjoy this chapter on the other hand... I have no idea, I'm just making things up here as I go along. Oh! And I'm sorry that I didn't include this before, but Arthur and Merlin are about 17 years old. Anyway, once you've read the chapter, it would be great to know what you think as reviews are always loved. Enjoy. =) _

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'_Camelot, where legends begin,'_ read the large wooden sign that indicated the entrance to the campgrounds.

"Yeah right..." Merlin mumbled in a drowsy state, he had only just fallen asleep less than five minutes ago and they were already here.

The bus ride itself had only taken about half an hour, although if you subtracted the traffic jam you were most likely looking at around about a twenty minute trip from the city.

Standing up, Merlin accidentally slammed his head into the luggage rack, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Hurry up," Gwen said with a sense of urgency as she stepped off the bus and onto the dirt ground outside.

Obeying her order, he shuffled between the seats and into the aisle bumping into Arthur, who towered down upon him. If Merlin hadn't of been hypnotized by Arthur at the time, perhaps he would have noticed how irritated he was.

"Get out of my way," he growled before pushing Merlin aside, back into the seat he had previously occupied.

"Oi! What was that...?" Merlin didn't get to finish his sentence, as Arthur had already stormed off the bus to collect his luggage, that was now being pulled out from the undercarriage by the other kids and Uther.

Somewhere between hurt and anger, Merlin managed to get off the bus and out into the fresh air and sunlight. It was horrible, never in his life had he breathed in such pure air. Hunith had always told him that fresh air was good for you, but he never believed it for a second, mostly because there's plenty of fresh air inside, so what's the point of going outdoors?

The camp was actually bigger than Merlin first anticipated. From what he could see, there were at least a dozen small wooden lodges hidden by the foliage around them, no doubt that's where each of them would be sleeping for the next two weeks. There were also a few rather huge buildings around them, which would serve as the dining hall and most likely the classrooms.

Beyond the trees, Merlin caught glimpse of an overly large lake, which could almost be mistaken as a mirrors surface as it had a perfectly smooth surface.

"Everyone, I need you to collect your bags and follow me," Uther shouted at the top of voice, and immediately everyone collected their luggage and followed Uther down the dirt path which lead towards the main campus building.

"Hi," said a girl who had strode up next to Merlin, "I'm Morgana."

"Hey..." Merlin mumbled nervously, it had been quite a while since he had talked to new people. "I'm Merlin."

"So what do you think?" Morgana said gesturing to the wildness around them.

"It's alright... I guess," Merlin replied as he looked around for Gwen, who was flirting openly with Lancelot a few meters in front of them.

"Alright?" Morgana said sounding as if she was disgusted by Merlin's answer. "It's terrible! Every year I get forced to come to Camelot, and each year I find it harder and harder to keep my sanity in check."

"Well if you don't like it, why don't you tell your parents?" Merlin asked feeling a little bit more confident about himself.

"I would, but my stepfather is the camp director, I don't get much say in the matter," Morgana pointed ahead to Uther who was now opening the door to the building, allowing everyone to walk inside.

"That sucks," Merlin replied with a frown before cautiously walking past Uther, who gave him a strange look as he entered the building.

"And that there is my idiotic stepbrother," Morgana pointed out Arthur, who was now leaning up against a wall as everyone gathered around a long table, which Merlin took to be the dining table as the kitchen was directly behind it through a large gap in the wall.

"Is he always such a prat?" Merlin asked remembering their encounter on the bus.

"Not always, just try not to get onto his bad side," Morgana said, sitting down on a large bench that stretched out all the way to the other end of the table.

"Too late for that," Merlin stated sitting next to Morgana. She seemed to be fairly nice, but Merlin got the impression she wasn't the kind of person to mess with.

"Don't worry too much about it. You seem like a great guy, just try not and annoy him too much and you'll get on fine," Morgana advised, and Merlin took quick note as Gwen sat beside him on the opposite side.

"Hey Merlin, who's this?" Gwen asked directing her gaze towards Morgana.

"This is Morgana, she's just giving me helpful tips on how_ not_ to get myself in trouble," Merlin smiled at the two, but caught sight of Arthur who was staring at him with his arms crossed. The moment Merlin waved, though, Arthur looked away as if he had never existed in the first place.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Gwen," she reached across Merlin to shake Morgana's hand.

Merlin allowed the two girls to get to know each other by staying quiet. After about a minute, the two were already talking like best friends.

"Quiet down," Uther shouted now that everyone was inside and sitting down or standing around the table. The room went quite and he continued, "Now that I have your attention, I would like to introduce you all to your teachers."

Beside him stood three completely different adults, all of whom stepped forward one by one to introduce themselves.

Gaius was rather an old man, but seemed very knowledgeable which would come in handy as he was their maths and chemistry teacher. Morgause, on the other hand, was a fairly young woman who was in charge of outdoor activities. The last one was Anguis, who was there English literature teacher.

"If you hadn't noticed as we came in, the cabins are fairly small and can only hold a maximum of two people. On this list," Uther held out a small piece of paper that had been drawn up as a grid with names written on it, "You will find your name, and the cabin number you will be sleeping in for the next two weeks, please look at it. After you have looked at the list, follow the path outside towards the cabins, as long as you stay to the path you shouldn't get lost. But if you do, then that's your own fault and you can find your way back. Is that clear? Good. Once you've unpacked your things, I suggest you get changed into something a bit more comfortable, as you will be going canoeing in an hour."

There was a murmur of excitement from most of the others, all except Merlin who had his head buried in his hands. Canoeing. This camp just kept getting better and better.

Everyone rushed over to the list that Uther had placed on the table, and were now checking what room number they were in and who they were paired with. Merlin waited at the back so he wouldn't get pushed out of the way.

There was a sudden squeal from Gwen who quickly turned to Morgana, "I'm with you! Cabin Five."

"Grab your stuff, I know the way," Morgana smiled, and the two girls had left the building in a blink on an eye.

Only a few people were left now, including Arthur who hadn't moved an inch from his leaning position against the wall. Walking over to where the list was, Merlin began skimming through the names.

_Cabin One: Freya, Sophia_

_Cabin Two: Will, Edwin_

_Cabin Three: Valiant, Lancelot_

_Cabin Four: Merlin, Arthur_

_Cabin Five: Morgana, __Guinevere_

"What!?" Merlin exclaimed noticing he had read past his name. The list surely had to be wrong, for the next two weeks he had to be in the same cabin as Arthur? Turning around he stared at Arthur, then back to the list in disbelief.

"I take it I'm with you then," Arthur grunted after remaining silent for so long. Merlin nodded anxiously as Arthur walked towards him, taking one glance at the list and sighed. "Come on, this way."

Merlin picked up his bag and followed Arthur outside, and down the dirt path that lead through the trees to the cabins. During that time, Merlin felt the urge to try and start some form of conversation with the blonde, but each time he tried, he found himself getting tongue-tied as he had no idea what to talk about.

Cabin Four was no bigger than a small shed. It had three small windows, two on either side of the door, and one on the side, and a red painted roof.

Arthur opened the door and walked in first, Merlin followed behind to find the room was even more cramped than he'd expected.

Against the wall was a small double bunk bed, which looked slightly comfortable, but usually things weren't as they appeared. On the other side of the cabin was a wall mirror, and beside it were two cupboards, one of which Arthur was already unpacking his bag into.

Neither of them said a word as they removed everything they needed out of their bags and into the small cupboards. Once the final piece of clothing was put in, Merlin grabbed a pair of shorts and a loose fitting T-Shirt and stood in the darkest corner of the cabin to get changed.

"You can get changed over here," Arthur pointed out as he closed his cupboard door.

"It's okay, I'd rather get dressed here thanks," Merlin replied shyly as he quickly stripped himself of his jeans until he was only in a pair of boxers. He swiftly slipped on the pair of blue shorts so he no longer felt exposed. He then removed his shirt, suddenly feeling the heat through the window against his back, and slipped on the fresh T-Shirt. Little did Merlin know that Arthur had been watching him undress the entire time, through the reflection of the mirror.

Once Merlin was fully clothed, Arthur grabbed a pair of cream coloured shorts and a red shirt, and as if Merlin wasn't even in the room, began getting changed right in front of him.

Merlin had to tear his eyes away when he saw Arthur's golden tan, not to mention his broad and muscular body. It was like the gods were taunting him. It was always the way, you can look, but you can never _ever _touch.

Arthur turned around towards him once he was fully dressed, and immediately Merlin felt himself going red. He decided to make a quick exit out of the cabin so that Arthur notice him. Not turning back, Merlin headed straight towards the dining hall where everyone was already gathering, all ready for canoeing.

Sitting down next to Gwen and Morgana, Merlin watched as Arthur strode in glancing around the room until he spotted him. Smiling slightly, Arthur walked over and sat next to his stepsister, where they waited until Morgause came into the room with a whistle around her neck.

"Welcome to your very first lesson, today we will be working on the skill of teamwork," there were a distinct groans from both Valiant and Nimueh, but Morgause ignored it. "If you follow me to the boat house, please, we shall get started right away."

Merlin followed Morgause outside, Gwen shortly behind who was chatting away with Morgana. Arthur was talking to Valiant and Nimueh, which caused Merlin to clutch his fist tightly as he felt a sudden wave of jealously surge through him.

Passing through the forest, they finally reached the boat house. Once Morgause had unlocked it, they all stared out at the open lake beyond as it reproduced the brilliant blue sky, the sun shining harshly at the watery surface.

"Pair up. Once you have, grab a canoe and two oars," she said pointing to the large collection of bright yellow canoes that were attached to each of the walls. "When you've done that, bring it over here and ease yourselves into the water. But before you do that, I will teach you how to put a lifejacket on."

She then demonstrated the correct procedure to place on the life jacket, also how to make sure the straps are secured so you don't slip out of it in case you fall into the water.

"Hey Arthur," Nimueh smiled sweetly, walking over to Arthur as everyone began to collect their equipment, "I was wondering if we could be partners?"

"As much as I'd like to accept that offer, I've already got a partner," Arthur said looking over towards Merlin, who stood there in shock.

"Oh, don't be silly," she laughed, playfully hitting his arm. "You don't seriously want to be partners with _that_ thing, surely."

"I'm sorry to tell you this Nimueh, but I do, so if you'll excuse me," Arthur turned around and walked directly towards Merlin, placing his arm around his shoulder before grinning as Nimueh stormed off in fury. Her eyes briefly connected with Merlin's, and he immediately knew that he was in for it later.

"You don't really want to be my partner, do you?" Merlin asked grabbing an ore off the wall.

"Not really, but I just can't stand her," Arthur gave a slight laugh before continuing. "I'm also expecting you to have trouble moving through the water, so I best offer some assistance before you damage yourself trying."

Chuckling slightly, the two lifted one of the canoes off the wall, they walked over to the body of water and gently lowered the canoe until the smooth surface rippled wildly.

"You get in the front," Arthur ordered as he helped Merlin into the front of the canoe. Once Merlin was seated firmly in the hollow plastic, Arthur jumped in behind him causing the canoe to shake violently.

"Careful!" Merlin panicked as brought the oar out of the water in case he dropped it. Arthur laughed as he used his own ore to push them out of the boat house and onto the open lake.

"You have no sense of fun," Arthur commented as he began to paddle through the water slowly. Eventually Merlin placed his oar outside the canoe and cautiously placed it in the water, pulling backwards in the water so they moved forward.

"Is this right?" Merlin asked unsure if he was doing it properly.

"Sure is, although by the looks of it your about to have your arm ripped off," Arthur stated as he placed his oar horizontally in front of him. He was right though, Merlin wasn't use to this sort of physical activity, he had done a bit of swimming before in his life, but that was as far as his sporting talents went.

"Can we take a break?" Merlin asked feeling quite sore in his upper body.

"We only just started!" Arthur exclaimed looking at him strangely.

"Please?"

"Fine," Arthur gave him, crossing his arms in irritation.

Sighing, Merlin placed his oar in front of him so he wouldn't drop it into the water. Looking around everyone else seemed to be having a good time, Gwen and Morgana were already on the other side of the lake, and were currently trying to turn around, and not very successfully either.

Out of nowhere, a splash of water hit Merlin directly in the face. Looking to his left, he saw Nimueh and Valiant laughing hysterically.

"Oh, sorry did we disturb you?" Valiant mocked childishly. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean it."

"Go away," Arthur growled in frustration, looking as if he could kill both of them right then.

"Okay, wow, you don't need to get all defensive," Nimueh replied with her mouth half open in lust. "We'll leave, won't we Val?"

"Sure will," he replied splashing Merlin yet again with his oar, although this time he flinched causing his oar to fall into the water.

"Bye!" Nimueh called out as the two paddled away across the water.

"Jerks," Arthur shouted out across the lake, but they were too far away now to hear.

"Dammit," Merlin looked down at his clothes, he was completely saturated. Perfect. Well at least the weather was warming up now, so it shouldn't take that long to dry off.

"Don't worry about them," Arthur said still glaring at Nimueh and Valiant, who were now splashing the girls.

Wiping away the water that was running down his face, Merlin reached out of the canoe to grab his oar before it drifted away. His fingers slightly grazed the metal pole of the oar, but slipped off.

"Don't do that," Arthur warned, but Merlin wasn't listening. Instead he stretched out further, this time he managed to grab the oar, but at a price. The canoe tipped upside down, sending Arthur and Merlin hurtling into the water.

For a moment Merlin wasn't sure which way was up, but thankfully the lifejacket brought him to the surface.

"I told you not to do that!" Arthur shouted at Merlin angrily as they both began treading water.

"Sorry..." Merlin apologized quietly, but Arthur didn't seem to care, instead he began swimming to the shore, leaving Merlin alone in the middle of the lake.

Morgause paddled over to Merlin, who was now clinging to the upturned canoe.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at Merlin, then to Arthur who was now just getting out of the lake soaking wet. Merlin raised an eyebrow at her, it was quite obvious what had happened.

"Can you swim back to shore?" she asked throwing a small rope around the canoe, tugging on so it was secured. Merlin nodded his head. "Good, go back to your cabin and get cleaned up, I'll be talking to you and Arthur later."

Without saying another word, Morgause began paddling back towards the boat house, the canoe dragging through the water behind her, leaving him alone in the water.

Great, just when he thought he and Arthur were getting along great, he had to go be stupid and ruin it. Mumbling to himself, Merlin began swimming towards the shore hoping that there was some way he could repay Arthur for what happened.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: **_So, what did you think? Was it okay? God I hope so, I'm honestly drawing a blank here on how I can make this story progress, but I have many idea's. Now, just a bit of trivia for you, the actual canoe tipping was something I was luckily able to experience on my year seven camp, I still have fond memories of that day... Anyway, if you wouldn't mind reviewing, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'll update as soon as I can. I hope this story is living up to you guys expectation..._


	3. Just Friends

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Merlin, although I do own the season one box set... which I watch very often._

**A/N: **_Wow guys, seriously! I can't believe that you guys are liking this, I mean... I can't see anything that good in it, but I guess I'm just very bias about my own work. In the last chapter, a few of you might be wondering who Anguis was, now I'll say this now, it is not a real character from the series, but instead, it represents a character from the series. It is latin, and means 'dragon'... apparently... I was hoping some of you might have picked up on that, but oh well. He will be making an appearence in the following chapters, though. Anyway, as I promised here's the next one, I hope it's alright... reviews are always loved! Enjoy!_

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As the day cooled down, and night arrived, Merlin began prodding his dinner with his fork. He really wasn't in the mood for eating anything after his first day at Camelot.

"You have to eat something," Gwen said shoving a forkful of mash potato in her mouth.

"I'm not hungry," Merlin replied lying his fork down on the plate. Down the table Morgana and Arthur were sitting next to each other talking.

After the canoe incident earlier, Merlin had tried to apologize to Arthur, but it didn't seem to matter what he said, the prat either didn't want to talk to him, or just ignored his presence entirely. But whichever one it was, the message was quite clear, so Merlin left it at that.

Morgause had caught up with him after class had finished, and he explained what happened. How Valiant and Nimueh had splashed them, which in turn caused the canoe to tip because he tried to retrieve his oar. Needless to say she believed him, and immediately walked off to find the two.

"Is this about Arthur?" Gwen asked curiously, glancing down the table towards Arthur and Morgana.

"Of course not!" Merlin lied, but unfortunately Gwen didn't appear to believe him for a second.

"Sure," Gwen placed another forkful of mashed potato into her mouth, and didn't speak another word.

Glancing once again down the table, Morgana was no longer sitting with her stepbrother. Instead she was passing her empty plate to the kitchen staff and leaving the dining hall, most likely to head back to her cabin.

"Wait up!" Gwen called out, quickly eating the remaining food on her plate. Once she had, Gwen rushed over and gave her plate to the staff also, running out the door to catch up with Morgana.

Only about seven people remained eating their dinner now, including Arthur who also didn't appear to have touched his food at all.

Knowing that he wasn't going to end up eating his food, Merlin walked over to the bin and scraped every last scrap off the plate. He then gave it to the staff, and decided to walk back to his cabin to get some sleep.

The night was fairly humid at the moment, though it was pleasant, almost relaxing when he thought about it. Breathing in a lungful of the forest air, Merlin made quick pace down the dirt path that lead towards Cabin Four.

Almost getting lost in the darkness, Merlin eventually found his way to the cabin. Just as he approached the door, a hand launched out from behind him, gripping onto his shoulder with tremendous force.

"Hello," Valiant snarled, flipping Merlin around so he was facing him. Merlin didn't reply, instead he kept his mouth closed as Valiant pushed him up against the door violently.

"You told on me, didn't you?" Valiant asked placing his face inches away from Merlin's. Right now, common sense was definitely not on Merlin's mind as he refused to respond. This in turn caused Valiant to pull Merlin forward, only to slam his back even harder into the door. Just as his back connected with the wood, Merlin felt a sharp pain as the handle jammed into his spine.

"You're hurting me!" Merlin yelled as Valiant placed one hand steadily around his neck, while using the other to keep Merlin rammed up against the door.

"It's your own fault, you shouldn't gotten me and Nimueh in trouble," with a sense of fear, Merlin watched as Valiant pulled his fist upwards, ready to strike him down where he stood. Covering his face with his hands, he anticipated the worst possible scenarios.

For a moment, Merlin began to wonder what was taking Valiant so long. Opening his eyes a crack he couldn't believe his eyes as Arthur yanked Valiant off him, punching him squarely in the face.

"Don't you _ever_ touch him again, do you understand?" Arthur growled, raising his fist again as Valiant recovered from the overwhelming shock of being hit.

When he didn't reply, Arthur punched him right in the stomach, causing Valiant to keel over in pain.

"Do you understand?!" Arthur shouted, and this time Valiant replied in a short gasp.

"Yes."

"Good. But I swear, if I you lay even one finger on him, I will break your legs," Arthur warned, and Merlin couldn't help but stare in disbelief as Valiant ran off into the darkness in pain.

Once he was out of sight, Arthur turned to him, examining him closely.

"Did he hurt you?" Arthur sounded genuinely concerned as he momentary looked into the darkness where Valiant had disappeared to.

"My back hurts a bit," Merlin replied as he reached behind his shirt to touch where his back had hit the door. "Ouch!"

"Come on, let's get inside so I can get a good look at it," Arthur said, helping Merlin make his way into the cabin.

Turning on the light, Merlin lowered himself onto the bottom bunk, carefully making sure he didn't move too quickly.

"Take your shirt off," Arthur said as he walked over to his cupboard, and immediately began searching through his things until he pulled out a small box.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Merlin did as Arthur had told him, removed his shirt. It wasn't that he didn't mind feeling slightly exposed, especially to Arthur, but he felt severely self-conscious because of his body. Bones stuck out on awkward angles that made him look like a shrivelled up corpse, although he did have some fat, but not enough for his liking.

"Does this hurt?" Arthur asked, gently brushing his fingers over his back until he touched the centre, instantly Merlin flinched in pain.

"Only a bit," Merlin answered untruthfully. It didn't just hurt a bit, it hurt like hell.

"Liar," Arthur retorted as he opened the box he had placed on the bed. The box seemed to contain a basic survival kit; band-aids, antiseptic, alcohol wipes, and a few other things that Merlin couldn't quite see.

"There's a pretty nasty bruise on your back, I'm going to put come cream on it to stop it from swelling." Pulling out a small tube of ointment, Arthur squeezed the white paste onto his fingers.

"I need you to lie down," Arthur asked, and Merlin obeyed, swinging his body around so his belly was against the mattress of the bed.

Before Merlin knew what was happening, he felt the cool ointment being rubbed over his back in a circular motion. He had to bite down hard on the mattress to prevent himself from moaning in pleasure. Once Arthur had finished, Merlin quickly put his shirt back on so he would no longer feel vulnerable.

"Sorry about earlier," Merlin apologized as he walked over to the mirror, turning around as he pulled up the back of his shirt to see the deep bruise that was beginning to form.

"Well next time, listen to me when I say something," Arthur replied with a slight tone of annoyance.

"So... does that mean we're friends?" Merlin asked nervously.

"It depends. You seem to have a way of getting yourself into to trouble," there was a slight pause before he continued. "There's something about you, Merlin, but I'm just not quite sure what."

"I could say the same about you," Merlin laughed as he lay flat on his bed once again.

"Shut up," Arthur snapped back, but it didn't take long for a smile to crawl across his face.

"Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep," Merlin added a loud yawn before snuggling into his pillow, he really didn't want to get changed in front of Arthur.

"Same here," replied Arthur, and immediately he stripped off his shirt and shorts until he was in nothing but his boxers.

Climbing up the small ladder, Merlin waited until he was sure Arthur was lying down on the bunk above him. Reaching over, Merlin then turned out the lights, leaving them in the cabin that was briefly illuminated by a narrow beam of moonlight that shone through the window before disappearing behind the clouds.

"Goodnight," Merlin mumbled, closing his eyelids.

"Goodnight Merlin," Arthur whispered back, but Merlin never heard as he was already fast asleep.

*

The following day Merlin had to admit was much better than his previous. Breakfast was at eight o'clock, and as he didn't eat last night, devoured three bowls of cereal before continuing to his first activity.

Today was mostly chemistry and maths with Gaius, which Merlin tried to understand, but got lost somewhere after Gaius's explanation about quarks and subatomic particles. Even Gwen was having a hard time understand the teacher.

Arthur didn't sit near him at all. Instead he and Morgana were sitting together on the far side of the room talking quietly to one another.

"What do you suppose they're talking about?" Merlin asked Gwen in a whisper, pretending to take notes on a blank piece of paper they'd been given.

"How should I know?" Gwen replied, taking a quick glance at the two, then back to Gaius as she continued writing down notes.

"You're right, of course you wouldn't know..." Merlin let out a sigh and continued listening to Gaius.

"...many people believed that you could turn lead into gold, but if you took here the number of protons contained in lead is eighty-two, while gold has seventy-nine protons. Alchemists believed this to be possible, but to literally change lead into gold you must change the number of protons they possess..."

Gaius continued rambling, but to be honest Merlin had no clue what he was on about, instead he nodded occasionally so that he wouldn't suspect he wasn't listening anymore.

Once the class had ended, Merlin got up and left the small building as quickly as possible. Usually he would've preferred staying inside, but the fresh air was just so spellbinding he could no longer resist it.

"What do we have next?" Gwen asked walking up behind him.

"Free time for the rest of the day, I think," Merlin replied, looking behind him to see Nimueh talking to Valiant who now had a black eye. The two of them caught glance of Merlin, and then Arthur who was now exiting the building.

"I wonder what happened to him," Gwen said noticing Valiant's black eye also. Before long the two bullies walked away out of sight, towards the lake house.

"Well, if I were to guess, I'd say he got punched," Merlin couldn't help but smile as he remembered how Arthur had appeared out of nowhere, protecting him as if he was Merlin's guardian angel.

"Do you know something I don't?" Gwen whispered quietly. When Merlin nodded, she couldn't help but giggle, stopping just in time as Morgana walked up beside them.

"Hey Gwen," Morgana said, looking at Merlin briefly before continuing. "Could I speak to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Gwen replied not moving an inch.

"In private," Morgana directed at Merlin who, overcome by her somewhat harsh tone of voice, walked away until found a log to sit down on.

Merlin began to wonder what was so private that she needed to speak to Gwen about. Shrugging off these questions for the meantime, Merlin waited patiently as the girls chatted quietly to each other a few meters away.

"How come you're over here by yourself?" Arthur asked as he sat down next to Merlin, much closer than he would have liked.

"Gwen and Morgana wanted to talk..." Merlin directed over to the girls before he added, "privately."

"Oh," was all Arthur said as if he wasn't quite sure what to make out of it. "How's your back feeling?" he asked concerned, after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, it doesn't hurt as much as it did last night, whatever you put on it seems to have helped," Merlin couldn't help but smile as Arthur turned his face away from him for a moment.

"That's good," Arthur said looking back, for a moment Merlin could have sworn Arthur was all red, but it was most likely the sever heat from the sun now that it was midday.

"Do you have any plans for this afternoon?" Merlin asked, looking over at Gwen yet again, it was quite obvious that she wasn't going to be hanging around him today. It was either Arthur, or nothing, and right now Arthur was looking like the best option.

"Not anymore," Arthur stood up, blocking the sunlight from Merlin's face. "Come on, I feel like a swim."

Feeling his face grow warm, Merlin stood up and walked with Arthur back towards Cabin Four to collect their swimming gear.

A few meters away, Gwen and Morgana watched as the boys walked down the dirt path towards the cabins.

"Do you think they realise?" Morgana asked Gwen, eyeing her stepbrother as he let out a laugh at one of Merlin's jokes.

"I doubt it..." Gwen replied as she couldn't help but feel happy as she watched the boys disappearing into the trees.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N:**_So guys, what did you think? As I pointed out many times, I'm still very unsure about this story... I feel as if there's something obvious that I'm missing in the characters, and, well... everything. Reviews are loved guys, and now that school's ended for the year I can update more often!!_


	4. Denial of the Unexpected

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Merlin, as stated many times before, but if I did... well... all slashers would know the answer to that one. _

**A/N: **_Hey guys, well here's the next chapter. I've finally come to the conclusion that this story must be good, as many of you seem to be pointing out, but I can't help but feel let down as not as many seemed to review the last chapter. A few of my regular reviews didn't review, so I'm just curious if they didn't get the update, or this is getting worse per chapter. *Insert 'laugh out loud' here* Anyway, I hope this chapter's okay, and thank you guys for all the amazing reviews, keeping them coming, and I'll keep writing! They're like my drugs, not liturallly, but you get the idea. Enjoy and Review!_

* * *

"That's no fair!" Merlin exclaimed as he swum away from Arthur, who had just splashed him in the face with water.

The day was scorching by now, only a few people had decided to go for a swim in the lake, everyone else appeared to have either gone inside out of the sunlight, or were resting under the trees.

"Toughen up then," Arthur replied back, swimming after him at an incredibly fast rate, but not fast enough to outswim Merlin.

Before long, Merlin was a good twenty meters away from Arthur, who had now given up and looked slightly out of breath. Obviously swimming just wasn't his thing; either that or he was trying to lure Merlin towards him so the prat could splash him again.

"Do you give up?" Merlin yelled out across the water, there was a slight pause before he saw Arthur nod his head. Taking a deep breath, Merlin swum back towards Arthur who hadn't really moved an inch, instead he seemed to be concentrating on him instead.

Just as reached in front of Arthur, the blonde disappeared below the murky water. For a moment Merlin feared the worst, thinking that Arthur had drowned. Somewhere beneath him, Merlin felt something brush past his leg, before he knew what was going on, he was being pulled underwater by his foot.

For a moment Merlin didn't know what was going on, but the moment he reached the surface again, Arthur was directly in front of him, only inches away from his face.

"I never give up," Arthur pointed out with a chuckle as the corner of his lips curved upwards. Topless and in _very_ close proximity, Merlin had a urge to kiss Arthur right then, but what good would it do? It was just another one of those pointless crushes that would get him nowhere. To this day, Merlin had never kissed, let along been kissed, by anyone.

"You're such a prat," Merlin replied with a smug grin, moving away so that Arthur wouldn't notice him blushing. Lying on his back, Merlin began floating on the water as he watched the clouds pass by above.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Arthur asked as he began treading water, looking vaguely disappointed that Merlin had now moved away.

"No... not really," Merlin blushed slightly before looking back to the edge of the lake. Nimueh and Valiant were sitting beneath a group of trees, but they were also talking to the girl named Freya. It wasn't a comforting sight as she looked utterly scared, and Merlin didn't blame her in the slightest. Whatever they were doing, let along saying to her, Merlin was not goign to get involved in the matter.

"What's the matter?" Arthur asked looking in the direction Merlin was.

"Nothing," he said splashing Arthur directly in the face before lunging towards the blonde, and began tickling him.

"You shouldn't have done that," Arthur said laughing hysterically; it seemed the he was ticklish, and Merlin took quick note of it so he could use it against Arthur on a later date.

"Oh well, be it on my own head," Merlin continued tickling Arthur, but stopped when he managed to spin Merlin around in the water, wrapping his arms around his waist, pulling him closer until Arthur's chest was pressed up against his back.

"Believe me, it will be when I'm through with you," he whispered into Merlin's ear, and immediately began tickling him back.

"Stop it!" Merlin yelped trying to push Arthur off of him, but the prat was strong, he had one hand was secured tightly around his waist, while the other one was moving all over his body looking for the most sensitive spot to tickle.

"Then say you're sorry," Arthur demanded, continuing his excruciating methods of torture, forcing him to apologize.

"Never!" Merlin laughed, almost slipping underneath the murky water when he stopped to breath.

"Well in that case..." Arthur resumed his tickle torture until Merlin felt like he was hyperventilating.

"Okay!" Merlin giggled and apologized, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Instantly, Arthur released his grip on him.

"Good," Arthur splashed Merlin one last time. "Anyway, I'm going to go have a shower and get dried off, they'll be serving dinner in an hour or so."

"See you later then," Merlin said, feeling his insides flutter as Arthur smiled briefly before swimming back to shore.

Once Arthur was well out of sight, Merlin decided to swim back to shore also. Picking up his towel he'd left there earlier, began drying himself down so he was no longer damp. Even though Arthur was long gone by now, he could still feel where Arthur's hand had been around his waist.

With the wet towel around his shoulders, Merlin walked back to Cabin Four and got changed quickly. Wearing only a pair of shorts and a light blue shirt, he began searching around for a phone to use so he could call his mother, eventually he found one in the administration building; a small wooden lodge, which had photo's of all the previous children that had attended the camp plastered across the walls. On the far left wall, Merlin spotted a younger version of Hunith in an old black and white photograph.

Picking up the phone and dialling his home number, he waited patiently as the monotonous ringing noise continued on a loop until there was a light _click_ and his mother's voice filled his ear.

"_Hello?_"

"It's Merlin," he said excitedly, it felt so good to hear his mother's calm voice again.

"_Well it's about time you called,_" she said as if she was disappointed, but quickly change it into a chuckle. "_How are you, sweetie? I hope you're having a good time."_

"Surprisingly enough... I am," Merlin stated, even he was bewildered with how much fun he had been having.

"_I told you!_" Hunith replied knowingly.

"Yeah, I know mum," Merlin couldn't help but roll his eyes as she continued talking.

"_Have you made any new friends?_"

"A few," Merlin couldn't help but smile as he thought of Arthur, not to mention the friendship they'd seemed to develop over the last two days. Even if Arthur didn't love him back, just being friends with the prat was good enough.

"_I'm so happy for you darling,_" Hunith said sounding extremely happy for her son. "_What are their names?_"

"Well, there's this girl Morgana, she was the first one to speak to me when I arrived. Her and Gwen seem to be getting along like best friends, although I wouldn't want to get on her bad side," Merlin frowned before continuing. "And then there's her stepbrother, Arthur, who I'm sharing a cabin with. He's a bit of a prat, but underneath he's a really great guy, you'd like him mum."

"_They sound lovely. Perhaps when summer camps over, you could invite them over for dinner one night." _

"Anyway, I should probably get going, dinner will be getting served soon, and I don't want to be late. I'll call again in a few days."

"_Okay darling, I'm so glad you're having a great time. Just make sure you look after yourself,_" Hunith said softly.

"Love you."

"_I love you too,_" Hunith responded as she hung up the phone on the other end, filling Merlin's ear with the crackling of the disconnected line.

*

Dinner was much more pleasant tonight; they were having spaghetti bolognaise which happened to be one of Merlin's favourite dishes.

"I see you're enjoying yourself," Arthur stated, who had decided to sit next to him, while Gwen sat next to Morgana on the other end of the table.

"What do you mean?" he asked, forgetting that his mouth was full of food, because when he spoke, tiny bits of spaghetti went flying into the air and onto Arthur's face.

Merlin grimaced as Arthur slowly reached up to his face, pulling away a strand of spaghetti that had landed neatly just below his left eye.

"You really are an idiot," Arthur declared, rolling his eyes at him.

"I can't help it," Merlin replied, feeling slightly embarrassed when Arthur seemed to stare at him for too long. Was there something on his face? Immediately he reached for a napkin and wiped around his mouth, where bolognaise sauce had coated his lips. Screwing up the napkin into the ball, Merlin placed in on the table in front of him.

"You missed a bit," Arthur pointed out before placing a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth.

"Where?" Merlin asked, crossing his eyes so he could see where he'd missed.

"On the bottom of your chin," Arthur replied, eating some more of his food. Merlin grabbed another napkin hastily and down wiped his chin.

"Did I get it?"

Arthur glanced over, and rolled his eyes before grabbing the napkin out of his hand.

"You really are hopeless, Merlin," Arthur softly pressed the napkin up to his chin, wiping away the bolognaise sauce that he'd missed.

"Thanks," Merlin said quietly as Arthur scrunched up the used piece of material, throwing it into the pile that was now beginning to build up in front of him.

Looking down the table, Merlin began to wonder what in the world the girls could be talking about. Ever since Morgana wanted to talk to her privately earlier in the day, not once had either of them talked to him or Arthur.

Standing up, Merlin and Arthur both gave their plates to the kitchen staff, and walked out of the building, heading down the dirt path towards Cabin Four to turn in for the night.

"Wait up!" called Gwen who had left Morgana alone in the dining hall, and was now running to catch up with the two of them.

"Slow down, one day you're going to trip and break a leg," Merlin commented as Gwen finally caught up, slightly panting, but not as much as Merlin had expected. To his side, Arthur looked at Gwen for a second before speaking.

"I'll let you two talk then, "Arthur said turning away, "I'm going to head back to the cabin and get some sleep. Goodnight," and with that, Arthur walked down the dirt path, leaving Merlin alone with Gwen.

"What do you want?" Merlin asked Gwen confused, as he rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously.

"I need to ask you a question. You don't have to tell me, though it would be nice if you did. What I'm trying to say is, do you like Arthur?"

For a moment Merlin wasn't sure if he was hearing correctly, she couldn't have just asked if he liked Arthur, surely... Oh god, she did! If she was going to ask, why couldn't she have been subtle about it instead of saying it so bluntly? He tried to form some rational answer to her question, but Merlin drew a blank, all he could do stare and wonder if he just misunderstood what she said.

"You do!" Gwen exclaimed after Merlin refused to respond.

"Please don't tell him..." Merlin begged quietly, realising that he hadn't misunderstood her.

"That is so _cute_," Gwen's tone was all happy and musical, even empathizing on the cute, causing Merlin to feel even more uncomfortable than he already was.

"How did you know?" he asked, kicking dirt up into the summer night air with his feet.

"It was a guess really..." Gwen admitted, and Merlin's jaw dropped. "But now that you've proved my theory, when are you going to tell Arthur?"

"Don't be stupid, Gwen," he snorted, trying to figure out why she would want him to do such an idiotic thing. "Not even the gods could force me to tell Arthur how I feel about him, and even if they could, I'd most likely end up being punched in the face, if I'm lucky that is..."

"Merlin Emrys, you can be such an idiot sometimes," Gwen snapped in annoyance, which was very unlike her, she was always the gentle type, but right now she looked positively angry. "Haven't you noticed by now how Arthur looks at you?"

"Yes Bu-"

"Have you not once wondered why he seems to care about you so much?"

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked as he finally managed to get a word in edgewise.

"What I mean is, Arthur likes you as well..."

There was a slight pause before Merlin began laughing hysterically. Arthur liked him as well? Yeah right, this was probably the funniest thing Merlin had heard for a long time.

"It's the truth Merlin. Why do you think Morgana's been talking to me all day? Arthur wasn't sure if you were gay or not, so he asked Morgana to find out for him. He really does like you Merlin, believe me..."

"Stop it," Merlin whispered somewhere between tears and anger. "I realise how much you care about me Gwen, but messing with my feelings is just cruel. You know as much as I do that no one really loves me, except you and my mother. If this is just your way of trying to make me feel better, then you can stop," Merlin tried to walk away, but Gwen placed her hand gently onto his shoulder.

"Merlin, If I wasn't your friend I'd have slap you by now. Just please, hear me out. Whether you believe me or not, the fact still stands that Arthur really does care about you. So for once in your life, don't just stand there and let a chance like this slip through your fingers, because who knows when you'll ever get another chance," Gwen let go of his shoulder, and suddenly Merlin saw everything in a new light, but didn't want to believe it for a second.

"I need to go," Merlin said as he backed away slowly.

"Just do something about it soon, otherwise me and Morgana will," Gwen called out as Merlin walked faster away from the chocolate skinned girl.

As he saw Cabin Four materializing into view from behind the trees, Merlin began recalling what Gwen had said. Was she really telling the truth? Did Arthur really love him as well? It made some sense in a way, the lake, how he stood up to Valiant, everything seemed to fit together so well.

The lights inside the cabin were turned off, which probably meant Arthur was already in bed asleep. Instead of actually going inside, Merlin found himself standing in front of the door paralysed. He commanded himself to grab the handle so he could go inside, but his hands weren't obeying, instead they hung down his sides rigidly.

Taking a deep breath, Merlin entered the dark room, closing the door silently behind him.

"Arthur?" Merlin whispered as he made his way to the bed. Through the darkness, Merlin could see the blonde sleeping soundly on the top bunk, his messy hair covering his face.

Climbing up the ladder, Merlin felt as if a thousand butterflies were fluttering their wings inside his stomach. Sitting at the very edge of the bed, legs dangling down the ladder, Merlin began talking softly.

"I know you can't hear me, which is probably a good thing, because if you could then I'd be a stuttering mess right about now. So here I am, talking to you while you're asleep, confessing my feelings to you, just like Gwen wanted me to. Apparently you like me, although I don't see why you would. I'm skinny, I'm annoying not to mention a complete idiot, which you have been very kind to point out for me," Merlin suddenly began to feel better now that he could get everything off his chest without Arthur realising it.

"I've never really felt this way before, so it's a bit hard to explain but I'll do my best. You make me smile, not to mention feel wanted. Never in my life did I expect to meet someone like you, not once. You're kind, you were there when I needed you, and on top of that, you're absolutely beautiful," Merlin frowned, he had only just realised how much he sounded like a girl right now.

"What I'm trying to say is... I love you Arthur, my knight in shining armour. Now that I've finally got that out in the open, hopefully I can get a good night sleep," Merlin made his way down the ladder and onto the floor, where he quickly stripped himself of his clothes and laid down on his bed.

"Goodnight Arthur," Merlin whispered as slowly entered the realm of dreams.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: **_So guys, what did you think? I know the plot is kind of slow at the moment, but in the upcoming chapters I hope to pace it a little faster. If have the time, press the little button below to review, it's greatly appreciated. C__riticism is welcomed! Also I'm sorry if there's errors here and there... hopefully I've fixed up most of them. _


	5. Flames of Eternal Passion

**Disclaimer: **_I don't, nor have I ever owned Merlin. Although... I have, perhaps once or twice in my dreams... _

**A/N: **_Hey guys! Well would you believe it, I got the next chapter done in one day, just for you amazing people! Although, I'll state this now, I'm very unsure about this chapter... The muse sort of took an unexpected turn, but I'll work around it, but I hope you still enjoy it nevertheless. Also, concering a question I got in a review, some summer camps have programs that don't just involve outdoor activities. This being things like, Maths, Science etc. Which is why in this I have included classes, but the main focus is outside activities. Anyway, I hope this chapters okay, so please review once you've read it. Now, off to write the next! Enjoy and Review!_

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"'Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.' Can anybody tell me what play that's from?" Anguis asked everyone, but the room remained silent until the girl, Freya raised her hand.

"It's Shakespeare's, Hamlet," she answered, Merlin looked at Anguis who was nodding his head in approval.

"Very good, but unfortunately that has nothing to do with what we will be doing today," Freya looked slightly disappointed, but Anguis didn't appear to notice.

"Instead, we're going to go back a little further in time, to a place where we know very little about, a time of dragons, sorcerers and creatures of the night. Camelot, the very place where our King Arthur once ruled over fairly, a mythical castle we have all heard about, but have no idea where it once stood," Anguis looked around the room until he spotted Merlin, who was deeply entranced by the man's choice of words. At last, something Merlin was actually interested in, not to mention he knew a bit about the Arthurian legends.

"It doesn't sound very exciting," Gwen said, nudging Merlin in the side.

"Are you kidding?" Merlin replied back shocked, while Anguis continued talking. "I would do anything to live back in the Arthurian times. Life then was so simple, well, if you weren't a sorcerer that is, otherwise your head would have been chopped off if they found out you practiced magic."

"Pleasant," Gwen stated sarcastically, looking slightly ill. "Well If I lived back in Arthurian times, I'd probably be a maid or something like that."

Merlin laughed and tuned back into what Anguis, who was now giving them a project to work on.

"Do not be afraid little ones," Anguis laughed as everyone sunk down into their chairs as soon as the word 'project,' was used. "It is a simple task. Today you are to express your creative side, to do this I would like you to write a short narrative, about how you think life might have been back in the days when Camelot ruled over all. It can be anything from the life of a servant, to those of the royal family. You have until the sun reaches midday."

Anguis began handing out pencils and blank pieces of lined paper to everyone. The moment Merlin had the piece of paper in front of him, he immediately let the plot bunnies take over, and began writing.

For the next two hours, no one spoke a word. Instead everyone seemed to be more interested in writing their story, though Merlin had finished his story in about an hour.

His story was pretty basic really. It was about a young man who had to hide the fact that he's a sorcerer from the kingdom, because if anyone ever found out, he'd be dead instantly. Again, it was basic, but simple which was how Merlin liked it.

Merlin took a glance over to see what Gwen's story was about. The first few lines were good, they were about the life of a servant girl, but halfway down the page she had abruptly stopped, and was now drawing pictures of Lancelot wielding a sword. Merlin had to admit, she was doing a pretty good job at getting his features right, though, when Lancelot turned around to face Gwen, her pencil snapped in half as she blushed madly.

"Umm... Can I have another pencil please?" she asked Angius, who strode over, handing her another pencil and collecting the snapped one.

On the other side of the room, Morgana and Arthur were sitting together yet again. Every now and again, Arthur would look over in Merlin's direction as if he was studying him, he would then look back down at his paper and write more of his story.

"Times up everyone. Don't worry about writing your name on the page, you can collect them up after dinner tonight if you wish," Anguis said, breaking the silence that had filled the room. Walking around the room, he picked up everyone's stories from in front of them, occasionally skimming through what they'd written. Merlin couldn't help but laugh when he got to Gwen's, as he shook his head in disappointment, but Merlin could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh as well.

"What are you going to do with them?" Morgana raised he hand.

"It depends on what you mean by, 'do with them.' I guess you will just have to wait until dinner to find out. Until then, farewell small ones," Anguis mocked as he pointed to the door, indicated that class was over.

The moment Merlin walked outside, he was hit by a wave of overwhelming heat.

"It looks like it's going be a hot day," Gwen said, using her hand to cover her face as she looked up into the bright sky.

Merlin couldn't but help roll his eyes; of course it was going to be a hot day. Though, it was even hotter when Arthur walked out of the room behind them, instantly Merlin felt the need to have an exceedingly cold shower.

"Hey Merlin..." Morgana said walking beside him. Arthur was on the other side of her, and so far he hadn't spoken a word. Actually, now that he came to think of it, Arthur hadn't said a word to him all day. "I was just wondering if you're going to the campfire tonight."

"There's a campfire on?" this was the first time Merlin had heard anything about a campfire.

"Apparently," Morgana shrugged. "I originally didn't plan on going, but apparently there having marshmallows, and I figured we could all hang out. But if you don't want to-"

"I'd love to come," Merlin cut in before Morgana could finish what she was saying. "Do you know what time it starts?"

"Sure do," she replied with a grin that spoke in multitudes. "Nine thirty tonight behind the administration building."

"I'll be there then," Merlin decided.

"Excellent!" Morgana clasped her hands together gleefully. "See you tonight then," she said slowly walking away, signalling Gwen inconspicuously.

"Sorry Merlin, I'm going to hang out with Morgana for the day. I'll see you later tonight," Gwen put her arms around Merlin for a light hug, whispering into his ear, "Talk to him."

"You're evil, I hope you realise that," Merlin mumbled back as Gwen let go and stood next to Morgana.

"Bye boys!" they spoke in unison, giggling as they walked away down the dirt path.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Merlin said smiling at Arthur.

"Actually, It's going to be just you today, I have some things I need to do," Arthur stated, but not once looked Merlin directly in the eye.

"Oh... Okay then," Merlin couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh. "See you later then."

Instead of saying goodbye also, Arthur turned his back on him, and began walking towards the cabins until he was out of sight entirely.

*

No one saw Arthur for the rest of the day, not even Morgana and Gwen had any idea where the blonde had disappeared to. By the time dinner came around, though, there he was, sitting down at the end of the table, not speaking a word to anyone.

"Did you tell him?" Gwen asked sitting down beside Merlin.

"Sort of..." It wasn't far off the truth, technically he had told Arthur his feelings, just not in a conscious state.

"Well you've obviously said something wrong," Gwen pointed out, pouring herself a glass of water.

"But I didn't!" Merlin exclaimed as he looked down the table at Arthur, who looked away the moment their eyes met. "I couldn't have..."

Merlin watched as his stepsister sat next to him, but seconds later got up and walked away in fury in his direction.

"Okay, what did you do?" Morgana said sitting directly next to Merlin on the other side.

"Why do you two seem to assume I have something to do with Arthur's personality change?" Merlin crossed his arms in annoyance, as the two girls leaned in so no one else could hear what they were talking about.

"Because it's the only explanation," Morgana retorted.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't..." Merlin exhaled loudly as he poured a glass of water for himself.

Before Morgana or Gwen could say something else, the booming voice of Uther echoed throughout the hall, silencing everyone instantly.

"Just a quick reminder, we're having a campfire later tonight to those of you who are interested. Now," Uther said glaring at Nimueh who was still chatting to Valiant, immediately she closed he mouth and listened to the camp leader. "If you could be quite for a moment, Anguis has something he'd like to share with you."

"Fantastic..." Merlin grumbled sarcastically, but Uther overheard and shot him a deathly glare.

"If any of you have a problem with that, feel free to leave the dining hall," Merlin almost stood up, but remained seating when Uther added, "without dinner."

Anguis stood up from his spot at the end of the table, where all the adults sat.

"Today I asked you to write a short narrative, and I am very happy to say you all did an amazing job. Some were touching, some were humorous, but one stood out beyond the rest and if you don't mind, I'd like to share it with you all," Anguis smiled and pulled up a piece of paper with writing on it.

"I wonder whose it is," Morgana asked, trying to see what was written on the paper from such a far distance.

"Well it surely isn't mine," Gwen replied smugly, and Merlin couldn't help but laugh. It was quite obvious it wasn't hers as it didn't have any pictures of Lancelot on it. Clearing his throat, Anguis began reading the story.

_Silence encompassed the prince's chambers as Arthur slept soundly. That is, until his idiotic manservant entered the room, who walked over towards the window and pulled aside the curtains, allowing the intense sunlight to fill throughout the room. _

"_Close them!" the prince demanded, using his pillow to shroud his eyes from the light. _

"_I'm sorry, but I can't sire, your father has requested your presence," the servant replied, yanking the pillow away from Arthur's eyes. _

"_Tell someone who cares," Arthur snapped, grabbing the pillow back off __his servant, only to throw it back at him again._

"_What was that for!?" the servant exclaimed, picking the thrown object off the floor. _

"_Just go away, I don't want to speak to you," the prince grunted, turning over so he no longer was facing his servant._

"_If this is because I forgot to polish your armour the other day, I'm so-"_

"_You know damned well that's not why I'm angry at you," Arthur cut in, sitting up in his bed so he was staring right into his servant's eyes. _

"_Believe me, I have no idea..." his servant stuttered, looking quite pale now as he backed away slightly._

"_Yes you do," he growled. "Last night you came into my room and told me something, now do you remember what you said?" Arthur glared intensely at his servant who now looked like a frightened child. _

"_Your delusional sire, perhaps some breakfast will make you-"_

"_I am not delusional! We both know what you said, all I want to know is did you mean what you told me last night, when you thought I was asleep?" Arthur asked, lowering his voice a notch as he tried to keep himself calm. _

"_Please don't make me-"_

"_Just answer the question!" Arthur snapped, wishing his servant would stop delaying his response. _

"_Yes..." his servant replied, looking at the stone flooring, the walls, anywhere except where Arthur was sitting. _

"_Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Arthur asked, reaching over to grab his servant's hand. _

"_Because... I was afraid," his servant admitted. "I mean look at me, I'm skinny, annoying not to mention completely incompetent!" _

"_Is there anything else you'd like to add to that list of yours?" Arthur said getting out of bed so he was directly in front of his manservant. If he wasn't so damn cute, perhaps he would have hit him for putting himself down. _

"_Umm... I'm clumsy, not to mention useless."_

"_Don't ever say that again!" Arthur snapped, feeling a slight twinge in his chest. "You are not useless," there was a slight pause for thought before Arthur continued. "Okay, maybe you are a very lousy manservant, but that doesn't matter. I love you. Ever since I first got to know you I loved you."_

"_You don't have to do this..." his manservant said, blushing madly, and Arthur couldn't help but place his hand softly up on the dark haired boys face. _

"_Do you swear on your life that what you said was true?" Arthur asked, running his fingers down his servants face._

"_I swear sire..." the boy said looking up into his eyes. _

Merlin couldn't help but listen in disbelief, the entire scenario sounded all too familiar for his liking. Looking down the table, he noticed Arthur gawping in shock as the rest of the story was read out, it was only then that Merlin understood. It was _his_ story.

"You may all collect your stories after dinner if you wish," Anguis said as he put the paper back down on the table.

"Are you okay?" Gwen asked, most likely noticing how pale he had gone.

Looking down the table, Merlin noticed Arthur smiling slightly as he walked over towards the kitchen to collect his dinner.

"I am now," Merlin whispered back, before drinking down his water in one gulp.

*

Sitting around the campfire, Merlin watched the flames as the danced in the night breeze. The only other people who had decided to come were Freya, Lancelot, who Gwen was snuggling up to,and Morgana who was attempting to put a marshmallow on the end of a stick.

As the fire illuminated the small area, he couldn't but wonder where Arthur could be. Out of the darkness, Merlin noticed the blonde walking in his direction, it was only then that Merlin felt his heart and lungs stop.

Paralysed and unable to move, Merlin tried to open his mouth to say something, but it was as if the blonde had cast a spell over him, as he found himself incapable of speech.

"Are you going to say something, or am I going to have to speak for you?" Arthur said, grabbing a stick and placing a marshmallow on it.

"I...uh..." Merlin stuttered. Of course he wanted to say something... He just wasn't sure what to say at this current moment of time.

"I thought as much," Arthur sighed, placing the stick on the edge of the fire, allowing the marshmallow to be heated up by the flames.

"Why didn't you say anything when I confessed my feelings?" Merlin looked up at Arthur through his lashes as he spoke, blushing madly.

"Because," Arthur shrugged, "I didn't really want to ruin your moment. Plus, you sounded so cute."

"I do not sound cute!" Merlin exclaimed which only caused Arthur to laugh.

"Fine, you sound like a girl," Arthur corrected as a grin broadened on his face.

"I can't win..." Merlin sighed, trying to frown, but found it almost impossible as the radiating glow from the fire illuminated all the features on Arthur's face. Arthur's golden blonde hair wavered in the night air almost hypnotically, taunting Merlin to move in closer.

"Nope," Arthur replied, sticking out his tongue childishly at Merlin.

For a while Merlin just stared deep into the fire as his thoughts ran wild. Arthur really did like him. Gwen hadn't been making it up. But why in the world would someone like Arthur – who could pretty much have any girl or guy he wanted – fall in love with a skinny, nowhere near attractive idiot?

Merlin felt something touch the top of his thigh, which caused him to flinch slightly. Looking down he realised it was Arthur's hand that had made itself comfortable on top of his shorts, occasionally squeezing gently.

Not sure how to react, Merlin's instinct told him to did the only thing he knew, and leaned forward until he was only inches away from Arthur's face.

"I've never done this before..." Merlin admitted shyly.

"Try not to think about it," Arthur smiled and pressed his chapped lips up again his own, instantly Merlin felt a surge of mixed emotions travel throughout his body.

Before Merlin knew what was going on, his lips had parted allowing Arthur entrance to his mouth. Then the battle for dominance waged as tongues collided in the heat of the battle, eventually Merlin gave in he felt the blonde's hand move up around his waist, pulling him closer.

Sadly, though, Arthur broke the kiss after what felt like forever. Not speaking again for the rest of the night, Merlin rested his head on the blonde's shoulder as they both watched the fire until it burned out.

Lurking somewhere in the shadows, two figures watched the boys the entire time until they got up to leave, Arthur's hand was placed around Merlin's waist securely.

"Oh this is going to be fun," one of them said, as they both scurried away into the darkness, carefully planning their revenge.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: **_Did anyone seem to pick up on the Anguis being the Dragon? I got halfway through writing him, and all of a sudden I had a mental blank on how to write him... *head desk* Anyway, I hope you guys are still enjoying this story... I'm kind of getting worried that it's going a bit fast paced... but I guess that's up to you to decide. Reviews are loved! I hope the grammar was okay... With school over my brain is slowly turning to mush..._


	6. Right On Target

**Disclaimer: **_As pointed out many times previously, I do not own Merlin... For this I have cried over many times_

**A/N: **_I'll say this now... by the time you get to the end of this chapter, ALL of you will be very angry with me. Why you ask? Read and you'll find out... I really don't have anything to say rather then that. Thanks for all the positive reviews so far... But I get the feeling that won't continue on after this... Enjoy... I hope. Also, there's one swear word in this chapter, that being bastard... I hope no one is offended by that. _

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"Morning Arthur," Merlin whispered into the blonde's ear, before planting a light kiss on his cheek. Removing Arthur's hands from around his waist, Merlin crawled out of bed so he could stretch and give out a loud yawn.

The first tiny rays of sunlight made their way through the windows, bouncing off the mirror directly into Merlin's eyes. Grabbing a fresh shirt from his cupboard, Merlin put it on sluggishly.

"You've got it the wrong way around," Arthur pointed out, and instantly he looked down to see he was right.

"So?" Merlin shrugged, he honestly didn't have the energy to put it on the right way round. Muttering something under his breath, Arthur hopped out of bed behind him. Topless. Nothing had happened during the night, well, if you count _a lot_ of hugging and kissing as nothing, but besides that, the night was perhaps the best night of Merlin's life.

"It's too hot to be wearing that," Arthur complained, tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

"You're just saying that so you can see me half naked again," Merlin said crossing his arms, as sleepy Arthur pushed him up against the wall, pressing their lips together.

"Maybe," Arthur responded, pushing him into the cabin wall gently.

"Arthur," Merlin groaned as the prat began trailing kisses from his chin down to his neck, where he began sucking gently on the skin. "We're going to be late for breakfast."

"Fine," Arthur pouted as if he was trying to make Merlin feel guilty. But no, not today, he wasn't going to fall for those puppy blue eyes....

"Oh, no you don't," Merlin said raising a finger to the manipulative prat's lips.

"But Merlin..." he complained, but this only caused Merlin to grin widely as he reached into Arthur's cupboard, pulling out a shirt for him to wear.

"Do you seriously want to wear me out? My lips feel as if they've been injected with local anaesthetic," Merlin ran his finger across his own lips; there was a slight tingling sensation, but it was hardly noticeable until he reached the very corner of his mouth.

"No," Arthur replied, snatching the shirt out of Merlin's hands as he put it on, covering his tanned chest.

"Much better," he stated as he opened the door, allowing the morning heat to fill the cabin.

Trying his best not to smile to arouse suspicious, Merlin walked with Arthur all the way to the dining hall, where they sat next to each other until Morgana and Gwen walked in. As soon as the two girls spotted them, Merlin couldn't help but notice the innocent grins that were forming on their faces.

"What?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow at his stepsister who had sat next to him. Gwen sat next to Merlin, and instantly he began to feel extremely crowded.

"Nothing," Morgana said as she examined her nails thoroughly. "You two were adorable last night, that's all."

"Don't say it so loud!" Arthur snapped, so loud in fact that people who had began to walk in looked down into their direction to see what was going on.

"But you were," Gwen pointed out, causing Arthur to blush furiously.

"Well maybe you should keep your nose out of our business," Arthur whispered fiercely that made even Merlin shiver.

"Perhaps you should keep your tongue out of Merlin's mouth then," Morgana replied with snicker as her and Gwen began giggling. Merlin couldn't help but feel embarrassed as his face and neck quickly turned to a deep shade of pink.

"You... saw that?" Merlin asked quietly.

"Well, you two weren't exactly discreet about it. Everyone who was at the campfire saw what happened," Gwen shrugged as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Who else saw?" Arthur panicked as his eyes went wide with fear.

"Lancelot," Gwen answered calmly. "But you don't need to worry about him, I had a talk with him and he's promised not to say a word. Though I'm not quite sure of that girl... Freya I think her name is."

"She doesn't really talk much," Morgana added. "So I don't think she'll be much of a problem."

Arthur appeared to sigh in relief as the girls reassured him that no one was going to find out about their relationship. Merlin frowned slightly... Never in his life would he have expected to have a relationship, especially with someone like Arthur. That thought alone brought a magical smile to his face that nobody would ever be able to scrub off, no matter how hard they tried.

"What are you so happy about?" Arthur asked, looking at a very happy Merlin.

"No reason," Merlin replied as he reached down between them, placing his hand in Arthur's in such a way no one could see except them.

Once breakfast was over, everyone followed Morgause to the archery range where she explained the correct way to hold the bow, and when it was safe to collect their arrows. When she had finally finished, one by one each person lined up behind the safety rope and picked up their bow.

Picking up a bow as close to the edge of the range as possible, Merlin grabbed an arrow and placed the nock onto the string, carefully aiming towards the centre of the target that was at least fifteen meters away. Once he was satisfied with the angle, Merlin let go of the string, allowing the arrow to hurtle through the air directly towards Uther, who happened to be walking along the path on the side of the archery range at the time.

"Who did that?!" Uther shouted in what appeared to be a state of panic. Pulling the arrow from out of a tree that was only inches away from his face, he then walked over to Morgause who was laughing, but put on a serious face when Uther drew near.

Quickly grabbed another arrow, Merlin pretending that he had no idea what had just happened, and began aiming at the target for a second time.

Thankfully, Uther left fuming once he was unable to find out who shot the arrow at him, much to Merlin's relief.

Looking down the range, Merlin couldn't help but notice Arthur who was showing a few of the girls how to fire the arrow properly. Amazingly, when Arthur released the arrow, it hit the bulls eyes dead on centre.

"Wow..." Merlin commented pretty impressed as Arthur demonstrated again.

"Ogling over your _boyfriend_ I see," Nimueh mocked as she took up a position next to Merlin, grabbing a bow and firing at the target.

For a moment Merlin wasn't sure what to make of her accusation, there was no way she could know about him and Arthur.

"No... Of course not," Merlin stuttered, trying to sound as if he had no idea what she was going on about. Though, Merlin had to admit he sounded extremely unconvincing, even to himself. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Right... and I'm an evil enchantress," Nimueh rolled her eyes as she turned towards Merlin.

"What do you want?" Merlin growled contemplating whether or not he should fire an arrow at her.

"You don't know?" she gasped dramatically, even raising her hand in front of her mouth to add to the effect.

"Go away Nimueh," Merlin snapped, returning his attention to the target in front of him. Just as he went to release the arrow, Nimueh bumped him, causing the arrow to go flying well over the target.

"Opps," Nimueh apologized innocently. "I'm _so_ sorry! I don't know what came over me."

"Sure," he replied, trying his best to ignore the cow, but she didn't appear to be giving up easily.

"You do know that it's wrong, right? What you and Arthur are doing... It's unnatural."

Merlin felt his fist tightened as he forced himself to block her from his sight. But as his line of vision moved, she did with it, until she was directly beside him.

"I have no idea what you're going on about, Nimueh. And even if I did, why is my private life any of your business?"

Even back at school, Nimueh seemed to always find a way to make him angry and hurt, twisting his emotions until he cracked so badly that he was the one that got into trouble, while she and Valiant always got off easy.

"Now, now," she teased, "Is it so wrong of me to care about your personal wellbeing?"

"As a matter of fact, it is," Merlin said, placing the bow on the ground. "So for once in your miserable life, leave me alone!"

A few people turned their heads to see what was going on, but ignored them and continued on firing their arrows.

"But why would I want to do that?" Nimueh laughed softly as she titled her head.

"That's it, I'm leaving," Merlin said and instantly tried to walk away, but Nimueh gripped onto him around the wrist, twisting it slightly causing Merlin to wince in pain as she pulled him back.

"Oh, I don't think so. You see," she said squeezing a little harder, "I still have to get you back for getting me and Valiant in trouble. Not to mention your boyfriend hitting Valiant, after all, it's only fair."

Merlin couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. There was no way she had no proof that him and Arthur were in a relationship.

"Do you see Arthur over there?" Nimueh pointed over towards Arthur who was now helping Freya aim correctly. "What a shame it would be if his father found out that his roommate had been kissing his son."

It took a moment for her words to sink in, only then did Merlin's mouth gape open in horror. She wouldn't dare. No, wait, she would!

"You can't do that," Merlin whispered so no one else could hear. "That's blackmail!"

"Of course it is, silly," she let go of his wrist, and instantly he began rubbing it better. "So I'm afraid you have two choices. Number one, you tell Arthur you never loved him-"

"I would never-"

"Or number two, I tell Uther and he will personally make sure you never see or touch his precious son ever again. Now, which one is it going to be?"

An evil grin broadened on her face that he recognised immediately. After all these years of knowing Nimueh, one thing always remained constant; she was true to her word. If she said she was going to do it, she would without hesitating.

"Why are you doing this?" Merlin asked, trying his best to hold back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.

"Because it's fun," she gave an innocent smile before kissing him light on the cheek. "Oh, and if you tell a soul about our friendly chat, then I'll go straight to Uther. I'll be watching, Merlin, watching your every step. You have until after dinner tonight. Have a great day!"

With an enthusiastic wave, Nimueh walked away casually, almost as if nothing had happened at all. Why? Why did she always have to ruin his life!? It wasn't fair, though that's what life is, unfair and unjust.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked softly as she walked over towards him. Was it really that obvious he was upset?

Merlin caught glimpse of Nimueh who was watching them carefully from the other end of the range.

"Nothing's wrong, Gwen," Merlin chuckled. "I just... Uh... feel a bit sick, that's all."

Technically it wasn't far from the truth either, right at this current moment, Merlin felt as if he could throw up any second now.

"Do you want me to get the nurse?" Gwen asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I just... need to sit out for a while, get some fresh air, that's all," Merlin was looking for any excuse now to get away from everyone.

"Umm, Merlin?" Gwen said looking quite puzzled. "There's fresh air all around us..."

"There is?" he inquired. "Of course there is! I just meant I need to go for a walk, that's all."

His breathing and heartbeat were both getting faster by each passing second, not to mention his shirt was beginning to stick to his back as he perspired.

"Okay..." Gwen raised an eyebrow before continuing. "Well, I'll see you later then."

"Sure will," Merlin tripped over the bow as he walked away from the group, towards the cabins.

Closing and locking the door behind him, Merlin eased himself onto his bed, curling himself up into a ball and began crying.

*

Merlin didn't leave the cabin at all that day. By now his face was red and soaked with tears, not to mention he was shaking uncontrollably.

Grabbing up one of Arthur's shirt, Merlin began wiping his face down so no one would suspect he'd been crying like a girl. Taking a deep breath in the shirt, Merlin inhaled as much of Arthur's scent as possible before unlocking the cabin door and heading towards the dining hall.

"Hi Merlin," Nimueh giggled as he entered the dining hall. She was seating next to Valiant, and Merlin couldn't help but notice the broad grins on their faces. Grabbing a plate of food from the kitchen counter, Merlin sat down between the girls.

"Where have you been all day? Arthur's been worried about you," Morgana directed Merlin's attention over towards her stepbrother, who was now walking over towards them.

"I went for a walk," Merlin lied, trying to prevent himself from crying again as he saw Valiant tap his watch.

"Must have been an awfully long walk then," Arthur stated as the girls shuffled to the side, so he could sit next to Merlin.

His entire body tensed when the blonde sat next to him, and already he could see Nimueh rubbing her hands together gleefully.

"I can't do it..." Merlin mumbled to himself, placing his head between his hands.

"Do what?" Arthur asked, placing a hand against his thigh, but Merlin brushed his hand away in one swift motion.

In the corner of his eye, Merlin noticed Nimueh walking over towards Uther, smiling the entire time until she reached the camp leader and began chatting casually. Merlin had a feeling she hadn't said anything to him yet, but she was about to, any moment now Nimueh would tell Uther all about what him and Arthur had been up too.

"I... I," Merlin closed his eyes as his body began to tremble beneath him. "I hate you."

"What?" Arthur said stunned.

"You heard me," Merlin opened his eyes, but never once looked at Arthur's face. "For days I've had to put up with you. Did you honestly believe that I loved you? Seriously, I have much better things to do in my life than to waste my time with someone like you."

"You don't mean that..." Arthur stammered, horrified.

"I do!" Merlin yelled out, and everyone turned to look, including Nimueh and Uther.

"In that case, don't you _dare_ ever speak to me again you bastard! Oh, and you can remove your things from the cabin, I'm having father move you in with someone else,"Arthur growled, picking up his tray and moving to the other end of the table. Those words drove straight into Merlin's heart like a rusty dagger, the impact more excruciating and painful than anything anyone had ever said to him before in his entire life.

Picking up his plate, Merlin threw it across the room in Nimueh's general direction, hitting the wall directly behind her where it smashed into several pieces. A large blob of mashed potato flew through the air, landing right in the middle of Nimueh's face, causing her to shreik in fury as she attempted to get it out of her eyes. Everyone in the room gasped at his outburst, but right now Merlin didn't care in the slightest.

"What on earth are you doing?" Morgana asked, but Merlin was already leaving the dining hall in tears to collect his things from the cabin.

As he walked out of the dining room, Valiant cackled under his breath as Nimueh still attempted to remove all the mashed potato from her precious face.

"Stage one, complete," Valiant confirmed quietly, taking one look at the mash potato left on his own plate, before pushing it aside as he no longer felt hungry.

_To be continued..._

_

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_**A/N: **_SEE! I told you that you'd all be angry with me... But I promise, there is a happy ending at the end of the tunnel! Sorry it took so long for me to update, as you might have guessed this chapter got a little bit emotional for me, so I had a bit of trouble writing it. There was that, and the damn plot bunnies ceased bouncing away happily, taking a nasty turn. I didn't intend this story to have angst, but It just seemed to fit... Have no fear! I'll make sure both Nimueh and Valiant get what's coming for them. I'm afraid to ask... but please review... I'll update soon._


	7. Pictures Inside My Mind

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Merlin, perhaps in my dreams, but unfortunately not in reality... you can take that whatever way you please. =)_

**A/N: **_Well, at least I didn't scare all of you away... I think there was a few that no longer want to read this story, as my review adverage plummited to it's untimely death. Anyway, for those loyal readers out there, I'm sorry to say, things aren't getting better quite yet, BUT __don't worry little ones, as it will all end happily soon. I have in mind a sequel at the moment... which proves that this will have a happy ending. Anyway, enjoy... or not... and Review... or not._

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Six minutes was all it took for Merlin to gather his things from out of Cabin Four, and in those six minutes he felt the world crashing down upon him.

Grabbing his packer bag off the floor, Merlin took one final look at the place he had been forced to leave behind; the very place Arthur had held him tight whilst he slept.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the door shut behind him and made his way up to the administration building where Uther would tell him what cabin he would be moving too.

As he entered the familiar room with pictures hanging off the walls, Merlin waited patiently until Uther came in, glaring at him intensely.

"First of all, that was extremely inappropriate of you. Throwing a plate at your fellow campers is rude not to mention dangerous. You're lucky I'm not sending you straight home this very instant!" Uther walked behind the wooden desk that was situated at the back of the room.

"You're lucky the plate didn't hit you in the face..." Merlin muttered, looking away out the window to see everyone heading back to their cabins. For a brief moment he saw Gwen and Morgana, who were both chatting to Arthur with their hands on his arms or shoulders.

"What did you say?" Uther snapped, as he grabbed a list out of a draw.

"I said I'm sorry for what I did in the first place," he replied nervously.

"Secondly, I have no idea what you did to my son to cause him to act so upset; he came up to me demanding you were removed from his cabin, but not once told me why," Uther clasped his hands together and leaned over the desk so he was staring straight into his eyes. "I suppose you're not going to tell me either?"

Merlin reluctantly shook his head. "I have no idea why he doesn't want me with him anymore. Not with him in the sense," he stammered, feeling even more anxious now that Uther was raising an eyebrow. "What I mean is..."

"I do not care what you mean," Uther cut in before Merlin had a chance to make himself look like any more of an idiot. "From this night onwards, you will be sleeping in Cabin Three with Lancelot. But if you have one more little outburst like you did tonight, I will call your parents and have them pick you up. Do you understand?"

"It's parent... My father's dead," Merlin sighed before looking at the picture of his mother on the wall. He had never really known his father, but from the stories Hunith had always told him, not once did he recall her speaking about him in a bad way.

"You stay here while I go organise the arrangements for Cabin Three," Uther said, unphased by what Merlin had just said and walked out of the building, leaving Merlin alone with the eyes of the photo's staring at him.

"Stop looking at me!" Merlin whispered at the photo's as the paranoia settled in. "I had no other choice, okay? And anyway, Arthur's probably much happier without me. Ever since he met me, all I've been able to do is get us both into trouble, and look where it got us! I'm useless, that's what! I can't even hold a relationship for an entire day. What was I supposed to do, anyway? Let his father find out about us?"

Merlin stopped, almost wishing the pictures would hold up their end of the conversation, but typically, they remained silent, instead they continued staring intensely at him from all angles.

Sighing, he leaned up against the desk, accidentally knocking the phone onto the floor. Picking it up, Merlin decided to make a phone call.

"Hi mum," Merlin said softly.

"_What's wrong?_" Hunith replied knowingly.

"Nothing wrong," Merlin denied.

"_Darling, you're calling me at eight-thirty at night. A mother just knows when her child's upset, now please, tell me what's wrong?_"

"I..." he took a steady breath before continuing. "Something happened between me and Arthur, and now we're no longer talking."

"_Could you be a bit more specific,_" she asked gently. Merlin wasn't quite sure if he _wanted_ to be any more specific than that. Not once had he conceded the possibility that Hunith knew that he was gay, although, she always had a knack at guessing, and in the end she was nearly always right.

"Not really..." Merlin said finally after a few seconds of thought.

"_Well whatever happened, surely it can be fixed. Nothing is set in stone dear. Only you can control your destiny, so if what happened between you and Arthur means a lot to you, don't just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. Instead find some way you can mend your friendship, or whatever it may be, with him."_

What she was saying made a lot of sense, but there was still the fact that Nimueh would no doubt go straight to Uther if he even attempted to befriend Arthur again.

"Thanks mum, it means a lot," Merlin couldn't help but smile over the phone.

"_Now that we've sorted that out, I really have to go, my favourite show is on in five minutes and I do not want to miss it, love you sweetheart,_" Hunith blew a kiss over the phone.

"You also," Merlin replied, also blowing a kiss back before hanging up the phone.

As he listened to the clock on the wall tick away, the door to the building swung open behind him, revealing Uther completely drenched with muddy water. It couldn't possibly be raining... could it? Though, that didn't make sense as there was mud cacked all through his hair.

"One word and you'll be sent home, do you understand?" Uther warned.

It took a lot of effort for Merlin to prevent himself from laughing, but somehow he managed to keep a straight face the entire time.

"I've talked to Valiant, who was sharing Cabin Three with Lancelot, and he has been kind enough to swap cabins with you," Uther grabbed the bottom of his shirt and attempted to wring the water out of it. "Well," he said looking at him thoroughly annoyed. "Don't just stand there, go on, move it."

"But... if Valiant's swapping cabins with me, that means he'll be sharing a cabin with Arthur!" Merlin stated in a sudden panic.

"How intelligent of you," Uther mocked. "Now get out of here."

Reluctantly, Merlin grabbed his bag and made his way out into the humid night air. Just as he had guessed, it didn't appear to be raining at all, which brought up the question, how did Uther get wet? He soon found out the answer when Merlin tripped into a small hole in the ground, flying forward into a small puddle that he only saw seconds before impact.

"Just dandy," Merlin remarked sarcastically to no one particular. Hauling himself off the ground, he began wiping the mud off his shirt, and continued walking to Cabin Three, which just happened to be almost directly next to Cabin Four. Even dandier, this day couldn't possibly get any worse.

As he drew nearer to Cabin Three, Merlin couldn't but help notice the curtain of Cabin Four open slightly, revealing the figure of Arthur, who was now glaring daggers at Merlin before closing it again.

"What happened to you?" Lancelot asked as Merlin walked up to the door of Cabin Three.

"I fell in a puddle, what do you think?" Merlin snapped, but instantly regretted it as he walked into the small cabin. It was almost identical to the one he and Arthur had shared, almost too identical for his liking. The only difference was the window was on the opposite side, facing towards Cabin Four's window.

Unpacking his things, he placed all his clothes in the small cupboard before closing it again. He no longer felt embarrassed about stripping in front of people, so Merlin removed his wet clothes and opened the window, placing them on the window frame so they could dry overnight.

Lying on his bed in only a pair of boxers, Merlin grabbed the pillow and faced the wall, hugging it tightly as he imagined it to be Arthur. Even now he could still smell the blonde's scent. That alone made him even more upset.

"I understand that it's none of my business," Lancelot began slowly, "but what happened between you and Arthur?"

For a moment, Merlin had completely forgotten Lancelot was in the room. It was only when he spoke that Merlin took notice of his presence.

"Nothing happened," Merlin replied as he gripped the pillow tighter.

"You expect me to believe that?" Lancelot folded his arms across his chest before raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of... Yeah," Merlin exhale quietly before sitting up on the bed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Thought as much," Lancelot chuckled. "If you don't want to tell me, then I won't push the matter any further. I just wanted to help."

"Believe me, I wish I could tell you... but I can't," Merlin mumbled between his hands, not once looking into the other boys eyes.

"Why not?" Lancelot asked, scratching his head before sitting down next to him.

"It's complicated," Merlin replied truthfully, half expecting Nimueh to be listening at the window.

"You really can't tell me, can you?" Lancelot said, obviously finally realising that he wasn't allowed to speak about it.

"No," Merlin replied after a short pause. Just outside the window, there was a loud squawk from a crow as it flew past, causing Merlin to tense up.

"Okay, then answer me this. Do you love Arthur?" Lancelot inquired bluntly.

"Of course I do!" Merlin let slip loudly, so loudly in fact that he wouldn't be surprised if Arthur could hear him from Cabin Four.

"Then why the hell are you two fighting? When I saw you two kissing last night, I couldn't believe how much both of you care for one another. Even with what me and Gwen have, it could never compare to you and Arthur," Lancelot paused, and then closed his mouth rather quickly.

"You and Gwen are together?" Merlin chuckled slightly. He'd seen that coming from a mile away, especially with Gwen basically drooling over the ground Lancelot walked over.

"Yeah, ever since English the other day," Lancelot replied with a broad grin on his face. "Stop trying to change the topic."

Merlin frowned slightly as Lancelot continued talking for what seemed hours, but relatively speaking, it was only a matter of minutes before his eyelids began close as his attention drifted away elsewhere.

"...I'm sorry, but that just happens to be how _I_ feel about it. What do you think?" Lancelot finished, and immediately Merlin's eyes flung open painfully once he realised that he had been asked a question, and he had no idea what that question was in the first place.

"Can I phone a friend?" Merlin asked jokingly, only for them to both laugh hysterically until their sides hurt.

"You weren't even listening, were you?" Lancelot said before rolling his eyes.

"Not really... No," Merlin giggled before getting up off the bed and over to the window, where his clothes were. The night air had dried them considerably fast, but they were still slightly damp so he decided to leave them there a little longer.

A glimpse of bare skin from Cabin Four got Merlin's attention almost instantly, but when he looked over to the open window, there was nothing. It's just your imagination, he kept telling himself. Wait, no, there it was again, just a tiny patch of naked skin on the very side of the window in Cabin Four.

It took no more than one hundredth of a second for Merlin to realise what was happening as Valiant came into view, topless and kissing Arthur, who happened to be also topless.

"No..." Merlin stammered as his eyes widened in disbelief at the image before him. He had to be imagining this, or perhaps it was his subconscious's way of telling him not to let Arthur slip through his fingers before someone else got with him.

Lancelot cussed under his breath as he stood next to him, staring out the window to show both Arthur and Valiant who were putting on a show to those who looked, the tattoo of a snake in the middle of Valiant's back clearly visible.

"I'm so sorry Merlin..." Lancelot placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before closing the curtains so he no longer had to watch them.

He was too late. There was no way he would ever have a chance with Arthur again, and it was all Nimueh's fault. It was lucky that the manipulative cow wasn't anywhere nearby, because there was no doubt in Merlin's mind that he wouldn't think twice about slapping her across the face until she was unconscious.

Holding back the tears for as long as he could, Merlin's face began streaming with tears as he once again felt as if a rusty dagger had been plunged into his heart.

"It's okay," Lancelot comforted, allowing him to bury his head into Lancelot's chest where he cried until he no longer had the strength to stay awake.

*

Arthur hated himself for what he said to Merlin earlier, and right now he hated himself even more. At first he began to think everything would be better now that Merlin was no longer in his life, but it wasn't. He missed Merlin more than anything, but what good was it now? Merlin had said flat out that he never loved him, which ended that chapter of his life instantly.

But now he felt so broken, almost as if half of him was missing, one side of a coin whilst Merlin was the other.

"What's the matter?" Valiant grunted as he continued kissing Arthur, but not once did he kiss back. It wasn't the same... Merlin had innocence in his kiss, while Valiant was violent, demanding more with each passing second.

He tried his best to think about the matter at hand, both of them were naked from the waist up, and currently heading towards the bed, _Merlin's_ bed, the bed where he slept, the bed where Arthur had held him tight while they slept.

"I can't do this," Arthur said pulling away from Valiant, opening the window to allow some fresh air in.

"You're thinking too hard," Valiant groaned, trying to pull Arthur back into the kiss. "Forget about Merlin, he's nothing to you now."

"What if I don't _want_ to forget?" Arthur snapped, pushing Valiant away from him and slipping his shirt back on.

"Oh? So you're going to play hard to get now?" Valiant began circling him, like a wolf hunting its prey in the dead of night.

"Why do you care? Hell! Why did you even kiss me in the first place? I don't want this. I don't want _any_ of this!" Arthur growled.

"Yes, well, I guess we can never really get what we want. Take Merlin for instance, what a shame it is that you and him are no longer together, but don't let it bother you. You've got me now," Valiant placed a kiss on his neck, causing Arthur to shiver. "Let me make you feel better and forget all about that idiot."

Valiant's seduction might have almost worked if he hadn't shoved his hand down Arthur's pants, making Arthur jump back and shake his head vigorously.

"Touch me again and I'll break your neck, do you understand?" Arthur threatened, but Valiant didn't seem to care much as he only yawned before flopping himself on Merlin's old bed.

"Whatever," he replied unphased.

"And you can get off there as well," Arthur growled. "You're sleeping up there."

Muttering under his breath, Valiant collected himself off Merlin's bed and up the ladder until he lay down where Arthur had previously slept, but no longer.

Not even bothering to remove his own clothes, Arthur stroked the place where Merlin once slept. Easing himself onto the bed, he closed his eyes and dreamt of the one person he cared about more than anything in the world.

That person was Merlin.

_To be continued..._

_

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_

**A/N: **_Did any of you pick up the Stargate SG-1 reference? *giggles* If not, then oh well, I did it for my own personal ammusement. Our poor hero's, and those damn manipulative bullies! Any idea's on how I should get rid of them in the end? Killing them off would be too easy and obvious, so I'm trying to think of some sort of MAJOR public humilation etc. BUt that doesn't mean one/both don't get killed in the process. Reviews are loved!_


	8. Tumbling Routine

**Disclaimer: **_I **still**__don't own Merlin. Can you believe it? _

**A/N: **_Guys, I love you all. Though, if you still love me that's entire matter in its own. I'm afraid things aren't getting quite yet... but the following two chapters will be the climax of the story, and soon following Nimueh and Valian't death! Not really, I decided not to kill them, but what I have in mind I think most of you will be quite happy about. Anyway, I hope you enjoy... "hope". Reviews are love._

* * *

The scorching heat that filled the cabin forced Valiant to wake up, as the great ball of fire rose from the horizon towards the sky.

Climbing down the ladder, Valiant grabbed a fresh pair of clothes before leaving the cabin silently, making sure he didn't wake Arthur up from his peaceful slumber.

One of the reasons he was out of bed so early was so he could talk to Nimueh. As soon as she found out that Arthur had demanded to his father that he wanted Merlin out of his cabin, she had begun scheming ways to emotionally traumatise the boy even more. He wouldn't have minded so much as at first it was just a bit of fun, but now it seemed she was making it more personal.

When Uther had told him about the cabin swap, he volunteered. He saw it as a perfect opportunity to find out more about how Arthur ticked, but Nimueh had other ideas. She saw it as a of way of getting close to Arthur, a way to get _really_ close, which was something Valiant had no intention of doing. She wanted him to kiss Arthur, hell, she even suggested trying to have sex with him just so that whenever Merlin walked past he would become torn up inside. Obviously the fact that he was straight seemed to bypass her mind entirely. Although she had managed to seduce him into doing it in the end, not that he was happy about it, but there was something about her that was persuasive, almost magical.

Lightly knocking on Cabin Six's door, Valiant waited until Nimueh opened the door up enough so she could squeeze through the gap. Without further delay, the two walked off the dirt path into the trees where no one was likely to see them.

"Did you do it?" Nimueh asked, rubbing her hands together with anticipation.

"I tried," Valiant admitted before tugging at his shirt collar.

Nimueh seemed to glare at him before raising her arms in the air in frustration. It was quite clear she wasn't very happy about it, not that he could blame her in the slightest, but to be honest he was glad Arthur didn't want to have sex. Just the thought alone made Valiant turn around and throw up onto the foliage along the path.

"Well obviously you didn't try hard enough," Nimueh spat, completely oblivious to his current state.

"Believe me, I did, but he didn't want any of it. No matter how hard we try, Nim, the fact still stands that he loves Merlin," Valiant wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he began to feel slightly better.

"Oh please," she giggled slightly. "Who in their right mind would love such a scrawny thing like Merlin?"

"Arthur, that's who," Valiant leaned his back up against a large tree before stretching.

Nimueh groaned in frustration as she began pacing lividly back and forth on the spot, causing Valiant to feel nauseous again. After she finally calmed down, she turned to Valiant with a smug look that plastered her entire face.

"Can you imagine how devastated Arthur would be if he saw someone else kiss Merlin?" her blue eyes twinkled in the slithers of morning sunlight that managed to force its way through the treetops above.

"Don't you think we're going a bit too far...?" Valiant asked reluctantly. He was all in for making Arthur and Merlin's life miserable, but things just seemed to be escalating and getting out of hand.

"Of course not," she chuckled before pressing her body up to his in a seductive manner. "Why? Is that what you think?"

"No," Valiant decided with a wide grin as she kissed him on the lips passionately.

"Good, that's what I thought," Nimueh pulled away and looked over towards the cabins. Everyone was beginning to head to the dining hall for breakfast.

"So what did you have in mind?" Valiant said as the two quickly jumped back onto the dirt path, and began walking towards the dining hall.

Whispering into his ear, Nimueh explained her scheme. By the time the two reached the dining hall, Valiant couldn't help but smile wickedly at the plan that had been formulated. All they needed now was to put it into place.

*

Entering the dining hall, Merlin couldn't help but notice that Valiant was smiling at him. The slithering bastard continued on staring at him until Merlin sat down next to Gwen, who was eating a bowl of Fruit Loops.

"Merlin..." she started off, after swallowing her mouthful of Fruit Loops. "You know I care about you right? As a best friend, that is."

"Of course I do," Merlin couldn't bear to look her in the face, so instead he poured his own bowl of cereal.

"Then please explain to me what happened last night. You scared me, I've never seen you so emotional before," Gwen placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused him to look her directly in the eyes.

"I... I can't," Merlin responded, almost wishing he could tell her, but couldn't as Nimueh was glaring down the table at him.

"Merlin, you can trust me," she continued, as she attempted to get the information out of him, but it wasn't going to work.

"Seriously, I can't tell you. I wish I could, really I do... but if I did..." He didn't say anymore than that, mostly because Nimueh was leaning over the table waving to him politely. Oh she was up to something, he was certain of it.

"Why can't you tell me?" Gwen asked, following his line of sight until she saw Nimueh.

"Can you just stop asking? Please?" Merlin shoved an excessively large amount of Fruit Loops into his mouth to prevent himself from talking anymore. Why couldn't everyone leave it be instead of asking so many questions?

"Fine, but I hope you realise I'll find out eventually," Gwen stated before smiling at Lancelot, who had just walked into the dining room.

For the rest of breakfast, Merlin didn't speak another word. Instead he found it easier to be quiet whilst putting up with Gwen and Lancelot flirting with each other – he only barely resisted rolling his eyes at the two.

Even though he wasn't looking towards Arthur, he could still feel the blonde's eyes focusing upon him, almost as if he was trying to burn a hole straight through him.

Merlin tried his best not to look at him, mostly because if he did he would probably end up bursting into tears. It wasn't fair. This entire camp wasn't fair, all Merlin wanted to do now was to just go home and forget all about this place.

"Why don't you talk to him?" Lancelot suggested, but Merlin only shook his head in disagreement.

"I... I don't want to," he lied before pushing his breakfast aside. There was nothing on this Earth he wanted more than to tell Arthur everything, that he still loved him. That he'd always loved him. But the only problem was that two things stood in his way, Valiant and Nimueh.

Why would Arthur kiss Valiant? There was no rational explanation to why he would do such a thing, none whatsoever. Maybe he was tricked into doing it? Even better, he might have been drunk! No, that didn't seem likely, although the thought of a drunken Arthur caused a smile to appear on the young boys face.

As Merlin finished his Fruit Loops, he walked back to Cabin Three to grab a bottle of water for the forest walk that Morgause was taking them on for the day. It didn't sound very exciting – all they would be doing is walking around in the forest, occasionally looking at any interesting plant and animal life that they came across.

Once inside Cabin Three, Merlin began searching through his bag until he found his drink bottle. Eventually after a few minutes he was able to pinpoint the transparent container.

Filling his drink bottle up with water from a tap outside, Merlin waited patiently for everyone to arrive back at the dining hall.

Half an hour later, everyone had gathered in the dining hall except Gwen, Morgana and Lancelot who hadn't arrived yet. Merlin was beginning to wonder what was taking them so long. Perhaps one of them got hurt? If that was the case then surely someone would know by now. His worries were soon put to rest when all three of them entered the room together.

"Now that we're all here, I would like all of you to double check that your drink bottles are full as you will not be able to refill them during the day," Morgause waited patiently while a few people quickly ducked into the kitchen to fill their bottles, once they had she continued.

"Today we will be walking through rough terrain, so I trust all of you will look out for your fellow campers if anything goes wrong," she took a quick glance at Merlin. "We will also be visiting one of the nearby caves, so please try not to wander off."

With that final note, Merlin followed Morgause as she lead them outside and down a dirt path that lead away from cabins and towards the opposite side of the lake.

During the walk he couldn't help but notice Nimueh who was chatting happily away to Freya, which was strange, as the girl never really spoke to anyone. Shrugging this off for the time being, Merlin decided to catch up with Gwen who was talking with Lancelot and Morgana.

"...and then he said - Oh, Hi Merlin," Gwen said, quickly changing topic with whatever they were talking about beforehand.

"What are you guys talking about?" Merlin queried. The three all exchanged worried looks, it was only then that Morgana answered.

"We, uh... We're discussing the weather," Morgana replied with a confident ambience around her which Merlin didn't believe for a second.

"Sure you were!" Merlin laughed as they continued walking along the dirt path that was now leading up the side of a hill. By now they were deep within the forest, and so far he had seen not one animal. A lot of trees perhaps, but that was it.

"Fine," Morgana said glaring at Merlin intensely. "Do you want to know what we were talking about?"

By the tone of her voice, Merlin was very reluctant to find out. He had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't really want to know.

"Not really," Merlin admitted truthfully, stumbling slightly on a rock that was in the middle of the path.

"Well I'm telling you anyway, so you better damn well listen," Morgana warned, and instantly Merlin shut his mouth and listened. "I know that you still love Arthur, but do you have any idea how hurt he is? As unbelievable as it may sound, you were my stepbrother's first boyfriend, which makes it even worse."

Merlin's mouth gaped open. He was Arthur's first boyfriend? Does that mean that he was also Arthur's first kiss as well? If that was so, he was an amazing first time kisser, but it also made Merlin feel worse about the entire ordeal. Opening his mouth to say something, he found himself unable to speak as Lancelot placed a hand over his mouth.

"Let her finish," Lancelot said, removing his hand from his face. Merlin sighed and let Morgana continue her lecture, hoping that eventually he'd get a word in edgewise.

"Not only were you his first kiss, but you broke his heart! You're lucky I'm your friend otherwise I would have seriously hurt you by now," Morgana seemed to calm down before speaking again. "Look, all I want to know is what happened between you two..."

"I can't tell you..." Merlin stuttered as he saw Nimueh looking back at him with a smug grin.

"See?" Gwen stated they strayed off the path and began walking up a steep hill towards a large black hole up ahead. "I told you he wouldn't tell you."

"Why does it matter anyway? Arthur doesn't love me anymore, he has his precious Valiant to drool over now," Merlin snapped unintentionally.

"What are you going on about?" Morgana said with a puzzled look. "Arthur doesn't love Valiant..."

"Actually," Lancelot cut much to Merlin's relief. "We sort of... accidentally saw Valiant kissing Arthur last night from our cabin."

"_What?!_" Morgana stopped walking looking horrified. "Arthur would never do anything like that!"

"Sorry, but he did," Lancelot confirmed. Merlin examined the expression on Morgana's face; it was somewhere between bewildered and nauseous.

"You can't tell him I know, okay?" Merlin pleaded, but Morgana didn't appear to be listening, but instead she was staring directly at Arthur, who was now standing just below the cave along with most of the class.

"Morgana?" Gwen asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, but Morgana only brushed it aside as she began walking up the hill once again.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly, although Merlin had a feeling she wasn't just going to leave it alone. But for the time being, she didn't bring up the subject again.

"Hurry up!" came the voice of Morgause from the cave's entrance, her voice amplified by the hollow interior around her.

The four quickly trod up the hill until they reached the entrance. Merlin found himself panting rather heavily, finding it difficult to catch his breath once he reached the cave.

"Welcome to the Dragon's Den," Morgause directed their attention to the darkness in front of them. "Well, it's not really called the Dragon's Den, we just can't be bothered finding out it's real name."

"How big is it?" Nimueh asked, squinting into the darkness ahead.

"To be honest, we have no idea. It just goes on and on and on... if you get my drift. Now, don't wander off too far because it's quite easy to get lost in here. We'll be heading off in about five minutes," Morgause said, sitting down on a large rock at the entrance as everyone began examining the pictograms decorating the walls.

No wonder they called this place the Dragon's Den, half the walls were covered with pictures and carvings of dragon's in the wall, all baring their teeth and breathing fire on villages.

"They're quite nice, aren't they?" a voice beside him said. Merlin turned and faced Freya brushing her hand up against the cave wall.

"Um, yeah... They are," Merlin agreed.

"Please forgive me for this..." she said, looking at the ground before lunging at Merlin and kissing him directly on the lips. Almost everyone in the cave turned and gasped, all except Nimueh and Valiant who were gigging to themselves.

He couldn't move. Merlin had no idea what to do. He wasn't just going to let Freya continue kissing him, but it was as if his body had betrayed him and was letting her. As she pushed him up against the cave wall, Merlin willed himself to push her off him, but he couldn't, it was almost as if all his strength had gone.

She eventually parted, leaving a very shocked Merlin with his back against the wall. Looking around the cave, there were a few coughs as people turned away, pretending what they had seen had never happened.

Merlin's eyes sifted through the cave until they reached Arthur, who was staring at him with wide eyes. For a second, Merlin was almost certain he'd seen a tear running down the blonde's cheek before he rushed out of the cave.

"I... think we've seen enough here," Morgause coughed as she stood up. "Come on everybody, we still have a long day in front of us."

Nimueh and Valiant were both laughing hysterically now, and Merlin couldn't help but feel as if they had something to do with Freya kissing him. Clenching his fists in anger, Merlin stormed out of the cave as he followed Morgause back down the hill.

Taking an uneasy step, Merlin almost lost his balance as he made his way down to the bottom of the hill.

"Better watch were your stepping," Nimueh mocked as she dashed past him, violently bumping into his side causing him to trip on a rock in front of him. With no way to regain his balance, Merlin began to panic as he tumbled down the hillside, tiny rocks and sticks cutting into his skin like knives as he rolled over them.

Merlin didn't have enough time to manoeuvre himself as his head collided with one of the trees, and almost immediately he felt dizzy as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

_"Oh god, Merlin!"_ came a familiar voice as it ran towards him. Lifting his head off the tree, the person began cradling his head gently. "_Stay with me, you can do it." _

Just before slipping into unconscious, Merlin realised who the person was.

"Arthur..." he croaked out before everything went black.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: **_Don't kill me! It's not as bad as it seems... Well, maybe, but that's not the point! I don't know when I'll get to update next as my grandparents are giving me hell at the moment, and it's driving me insane. I hope to in the next few days, so bare with me people! _


	9. Blue Ink and Paper

**Disclaimer: **_I cannot begin to express how upset that I am because I don't own Merlin._

**A/N: **_Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Well.. maybe not so lovely in the sense that your all upset about what's happened. Anyway, here's the next chapter which I got done as quickly as I could. Reviews are loved. =)_

* * *

The inky blackness that had surrounded Merlin began to part, as he slowly felt himself regaining consciousness.

At first he had no idea where he was, but eventually his blurry vision began to clear and he found himself lying on his bed in Cabin Three. Hundreds of questions started racing through his head, but the one that stuck out the most was how in the world did he get here? He even began contemplating that he was delusional, and still lying out in the forest with Arthur holding him. Pinching himself, Merlin yelped in pain as he realised that he was in fact awake, and not hallucinating.

"You're awake!" Lancelot said sounding quite relived as he stood up from the chair he'd been sitting on. "Wait here and I'll go get the nurse."

In seconds Lancelot had left the cabin, leaving a very sore Merlin alone. Shuffling himself around on the bed so his back touched the wall, Merlin began examining himself to see how badly injured he was. It actually wasn't as bad as he had expected. Aside from the little cuts and abrasions on all over his body, he was in perfect health. Well, besides the very painful lump on the side of his head anyway.

Reaching up, Merlin brushed his fingers gently against the reasonable sized bulge, only to hiss and flinch away in agony. Taking note not to do it again, he sighed and waited patiently until Lancelot came back into the cabin with the nurse.

"How's my patient feeling?" she asked, easing herself onto the bed. Grabbing his wrist, she began to take his pulse.

"Um... a little dizzy and my head really hurts," Merlin muttered in a hoarse voice. He could really do with a drink of water right about now.

"That's completely normal, you took quite a tumble, scared everyone to death you did, especially Uther's son. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found out he carried you all the way from Dragon's Den, mind you that wasn't the smartest choice," she laughed, realising his wrist from her grasp.

"Arthur... carried me?" Merlin asked to double check that he heard correctly.

"Well, not exactly by himself," Lancelot chuckled as he leaned against the wall. "We both sort of took turns, but he insisted on carrying you most of the way. Morgause was going to leave to get some help, but Arthur said that would take too long, so we ended up carrying you all the way back."

Merlin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Arthur had carried him almost all the way from the Dragon's Den? But that was two miles away at least!

"I don't know what to say..." Merlin stated gobsmacked.

"Perhaps don't say anything then?" Lancelot smiled before opening the window, allowing a strong gust of wind to blow inside. The nurse wrote something down on a clipboard she happened to be carrying before heading towards the door.

"Now, I suggest you try and stay awake for the time being," she told him as she went to leave the cabin, but stopped abruptly and turned around. "Before I forget, we haven't been able to get a hold of your mother yet, unfortunately it seems that the phone lines have been knocked down by the oncoming storm. But I promise as soon as we're able to, your mother will be informed and you can go home if you wish."

"Thank you," Merlin said gratefully, as the nurse left the cabin at last. "Do you mind closing that window?"

"Sure thing," Lancelot pulled the window shut, not allowing anymore of the bone chilling wind into the room. Already Merlin could see dark storm clouds forming outside, not to mention all the trees swaying violently from the unexpected weather change.

"Where's Arthur anyway?" Merlin asked, now that the cool wind was no longer circulating in the room.

"In his own cabin, he was really worried about you. The look of terror on his face when you collided with that tree, the way he embraced when you fell unconscious..." Lancelot sighed as he sat down next to him on the bed. "What I'm trying to say is you can't just keep living this lie. Arthur still loves you, so stop pretending you don't still care about him."

"You don't get it do you?" Merlin mumbled. "There's no point."

"Yes, there is," Lancelot retorted.

"No, there's not," Merlin replied.

"Is-"

"Not," Merlin cut in, causing them to chuckle dryly.

"Seriously though, what's the worst that could happen if you told him?" Lancelot asked lowering his voice to a more serious tone.

Merlin had a sudden urge to tell Lancelot everything, but a tiny voice in the back of his head warned him not to. He wasn't willing to risk ruining Arthur's life, hell, he was probably much better without him in it anyway. Uther didn't appear to be the type who would accept that his son wasn't 'perfect', but more of the kind of person who would throw their son out of house and home.

"I don't want to find out," Merlin said at last.

"You really are stubborn, I honestly hope you realise that," Lancelot stated after he rolled his eyes.

"It's one of my many gifts," Merlin replied with a more than strained grin on his face.

"Gift or not, if you don't do something about it soon I will," he said sternly.

Trying to smile, Merlin slowly lifted himself off the bed and walked across the room without saying a word. Looking out the window towards Cabin Four, he prayed to see Arthur staring back, but he wasn't. Instead, though, he appeared to be lying on Merlin's old bed, facing the wall clutching a pillow.

His heartstrings throbbed with a deep pain as Merlin stared at Arthur through the clear glass. Arthur didn't deserve any of this, not one bit. Glancing upwards towards the sky he realised that it was almost night time and that he'd been unconscious for hours.

After standing up for too long, Merlin's head began to throb with pain.

"Are you okay?" Lancelot asked helping Merlin back to his bed.

"Define 'okay'," Merlin mumbled as he laid his head on the pillow, allowing tiredness to overcome him.

"Morgause and the others should be coming back from the walk by now, so I should probably go and meet up with everyone at the dining hall. Is there anything you would like me to get before I go?"

For a moment, Merlin had no idea that he was being spoken too until Lancelot slapped him somewhat lightly on the side of his cheek, bringing him back to reality instantly.

"Don't fall asleep," Lancelot warned.

"I won't!" Merlin rubbed his cheek thoroughly. "Could I have my water bottle and some pen and paper?"

"Paper?" Lancelot queered, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well if I'm going to stay awake, I'd like something to do rather than be bored out of my mind for who knows how long," Merlin responded. Seconds later Lancelot had grabbed his bottle of water from across the room, as well as a notebook and a blue pen that had been tucked away in his own bag.

"I'll see you later," Lancelot smiled and opened the cabin door, allowing a vicious wind to flow throughout the room.

As he left the room, Merlin took the pen firmly in his hand, staring intensely at the paper. Taking a deep breath he pressed the blue pen down against the flat surface and began writing.

*

He didn't want to move, let alone breathe, as Arthur clutched the pillow closer to his chest, imagining it was Merlin. Just seeing him in his arms unconscious and helpless made Arthur feel as if he'd lost the most important person in his life, and trying to forget about him altogether made him feel even worse.

What had he done wrong for Merlin to hate him so much? After everything that happened, the campfire, that night he held Merlin tight, did that all mean nothing to him? Was it just his way of teasing Arthur over his sexuality? No, Merlin wasn't like that... but then why would he do such a thing?

Over the years it had taken him a long time to admit that he was bisexual. The only person that knew was Morgana because if his father were even to find out... Arthur tried not to think about what might happen. All that did matter, though, was that Uther never found out.

Wiping away the tears that had saturated his face with the pillow, Arthur eased himself off his bed and headed towards the dining hall where Morgause and the others would be soon.

Dark clouds circled above as the sudden gust of wind caught Arthur off guard, almost causing him to fall off the dirt path and into a bush.

As he past Cabin Three, Arthur couldn't help but stop and wonder if Merlin was alright. He was almost tempted to go inside to find out, but he decided it was best not too – that and his legs wouldn't allow him to move towards the door.

Continuing down the dirt path until he reached the dining hall, Arthur sat himself down next to Lancelot who was already inside.

"How are you feeling?" Lancelot asked sounding quite concerned.

"Exhausted," Arthur admitted truthfully. His legs burned like fury as he shifted them into a more comfortable position. After walking so far with Merlin stung across his back, it wasn't surprising that his muscles ached. "How's... How's Merlin?"

The reassuring smile that spread across Lancelot's face gave him the answer he needed.

"He's fine. Well, if you can call being stubborn and a large bump on his head fine," Lancelot chuckled as he walked over into the kitchen, grabbing two glasses and pouring water into both.

"So nothing new then?" Arthur asked sarcastically as he took the glass out of Lancelot's hand, gulping down the cool liquid in one go.

"Not really, no," Lancelot took a sip of his own water.

"That's good..." Arthur smiled to himself at the good news. A gust of wind filled the dining room as the door flew open, allowing Morgause and the others inside.

"Lancelot, Arthur," she panted closing the door once everybody was inside. "How's Merlin doing?"

"He's fine," Lancelot replied as Gwen sat down next to him.

"Good," Morgause stated before glancing at everyone in the hall as they sat down. "I'm sorry that today has been cut short, but due to unforeseen circumstances I had no choice. Now, first of all, can someone explain to me how Merlin fell down that hill?" Morgause tapped her fingers on the table repeatedly until Morgana spoke up.

"Nimueh pushed him, that's now," Morgana shot daggers and Nimueh with her eyes.

"I did not!" Nimueh sounded completely offended by her remark, but calmed herself down as she stared straight at Morgause, who was waiting patiently for an explanation. "As I was walking back down the hill, I lost control of my legs, which caused me to start running down the hill unexpectedly. I had no way to stop myself, and regrettably Merlin was in the way at the time. I feel dreadfully sorry for what has happened," Nimueh explained, sounding as if she couldn't care less about what had happened to Merlin.

"That is _not_ what happened," Morgana retorted, standing up and walking over towards Nimueh. "I know what I saw, and I saw you run down that hill, bumping directly into Merlin on purpose."

"Girls," Morgause interrupted before the matter went any further. "There is no need to argue. Whether, or not, Nimueh did it on purpose, she has apologized and that's all that matters."

"But-"Morgana pushed, but was cut short by Morgause.

"If you push this any further, I will be forced to tell your father."

Arthur watched as his stepsister rotated dramatically on the spot and sat down next to him, muttering incoherently under her breath.

"Now, for time being, I would greatly appreciate if everyone could stay here until after dinner," Morgause said, only for everyone to groan in annoyance.

For the next hour all Arthur could think about was Merlin, even with Morgana's rant about Nimueh, he was unphased by the world. The wind howled louder outside and the sun disappeared completely from sight as the storm clouds swallowed it from existence.

Raindrops began pelting against the dining hall's tin roof as the dinner was served, twenty minutes later. Watercress soup. Arthur honestly couldn't think of anything more delicious, and yet unfulfilling. Pushing the bowl aside, he got up off from the table and decided to turn in for the night.

Dashing through the rain and wind, Arthur ran down the dirt path until he reached Cabin Four. Getting inside as quickly as possible and closing the door behind him, Arthur flicked on the light so he could see past his face.

The rain was really coming down by now, not to mention the wind that had already torn a few bushes out of the ground outside his window.

Something on the floor caught Arthur's attention. A piece of paper folded up with his name written across it. Picking it off the floor he began to unfold it, curious about who dared enter his cabin without permission. Once Arthur had opened it, he sat himself down on the bed and began reading through what seemed to be a letter.

_Arthur,_

_Before I begin there's something you need to know. I love you. Those three words are something I've grown accustom to over these past few days and even though I told you otherwise, believe me when I say that I truly do love you with all my heart. _

_These past few days have been hard on me, and probably even harder on you. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, __I respect and care for you far too much to do that intentionally._

_It's funny, but I find it much easier talking to you like this than actually speaking to you... Not that I don't enjoy speaking to you. It's just that, a few days ago I was forced to do something that affected both of us. Nimueh blackmailed me into breaking up with you. She said that if I didn't then she would tell your father all about us, and I couldn't have that. I didn't want your life to be ruined over something that probably wouldn't have lasted long anyway._

_Since then I've contemplated telling you so many times, especially today when Freya kissed me. I saw how broken up you were, however, I did not kiss her back and I suspect Nimueh and Valiant had something to do with it._

_Great, now I'm shaking. Can you believe that? I'm getting nervous just writing a letter to you. _

_Since the very first moment I laid eyes on you all I could think was that you were a spoiled prat, but then I saw something in you, something I never expected to see. A good person._

_For the last few years, I'd given up on finding someone that would love me. Then I found you and, for the first time ever, I fell head over heels, or in our case, me tipping a canoe upside down. _

_I honestly hope you don't consider this being too girly, me sending you a letter but stay __with me as I try to get my point across._

_Every smile I've made around you and every breath I taken was for you, and you alone. No one else, no matter how hard they try, can take back what little time I had with you._

_But, as with many things, I fear those times will never come back. That's why I've decided to go back to my home in Ealdor. It shouldn't take long, maybe the rest of the night on foot, but I'll make it eventually. _

_There's one thing I'd like you to do though, but I'm not saying you 'have to' in the sense. It's more up to you, I can't force you what you do and don't want to do. _

_Before you scrunch this up, let me say this one last time. I love you, I love you, I love you. Please remember me..._

_Yours forever,_

_Merlin_

Tucking the note inside his pocket, Arthur rushed outside towards Cabin Three. That one thought looping inside his head. Merlin still loved him.

Fumbling for the handle he pushed the door open to reveal the dark interior. Pressing the light switch, Arthur waited for the blub to illuminate the room, but it remained dead; obviously it had blown a fuse.

As the rain found its way inside the cabin, a flash of lightning filled the air, illuminating the empty room.

Arthur collapsed to the ground in ball as the sudden realisation of the matter sunk in.

Merlin was gone.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**A/N: **_I know, you all hate me for that evil cliffhanger. I can't help it, I'm just so good at it! Oh, and before you review I want to ask you all something. Have any of you had a dream where you have been transported to where Arthur and Merlin live, or them to modern days and kissed one, or both, in your dreams? 'Cause I had a dream like that last night . I was so depressed when I woke up finding out that it was nothing but my imagination... =( _


	10. Into the Storm

**Disclaimer: **_If I did own Merlin, all slash fans would be drooling over the kissing scene I have planned for the show between Merlin and Arthur._

**A/N: **_Howdy ya'll, Aloha, Guten Tag, Hola, Ciao people! Sorry it took a bit longer than usual to write the next chapter, but I needed some time off from writing so I hope you forgive me. I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen, but the next chapter may or may not be the last. If I'm lucky, I can strech the next one into two parts. I'll just have to see what happens, I hope you enjoy! And thank you for all the lovely reviews so far. _

* * *

Icy droplets of water fell from the circling storm above, drenching Merlin with their cool touch until he could no longer feel his clothes rub against his skin. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

A blinding light filled the sky followed by a crash of thunder that caused Merlin to flinch in fear as he ran through the trees. He had no idea where he was, not to mention he had no clue whatsoever where he was headed. This entire plan was just another one of his stupid ideas, in a _very_ long line of stupid ideas since that very first stupid idea of getting involved with Arthur. So far all it had done is cause more pain that it was worth.

His shorts and shirt provided no protection from the elements. Already he could feel his body numbing from the rain as his leg scraped up against a rock, leaving a long gash.

Merlin couldn't help but cringe in pain as blood slowly began to trickle out of the wound. He wasn't going to make it. He wanted to go back to Camelot where it was safe. But where was it? Which direction was the right way back?

Another flash of lightning filled the sky and Merlin jumped in terror. He wasn't afraid, not one bit. Thunder roared throughout the sky once more. Okay, maybe he was a bit more frightened than he wanted to admit.

Merlin kept running, almost as if he was trying to outrun the storm itself, until he could run no further. His legs ached like fury and the gash was bleeding in a steady stream by now, only to be washed away by the icy rain.

Freezing and alone, Merlin began to wonder how he would survive the night. Securing his bag on his back, he made haste to the nearest shelter; a small cavern in the midst of a pile of rocks, which he sat in with his knees clutched up against his chest.

Although the cavern offered some protection from the elements, Merlin was still wet and loosing sensation of his limbs.

Taking a shaky breath and closing his eyes, Merlin prayed for the storm to be over soon as he looked out into the darkened forest before him. If only he hadn't been so damn stupid, perhaps he still might be in a nice warm bed, but no, instead he decides to walk back to Ealdor just because he sent Arthur a letter. By now he most likely would have read it and torn it up, which was probably for the best anyway. Someone of Arthur's stature would easily find someone else in a heartbeat, without even thinking twice about Merlin.

Shivering, Merlin fumbled through his bag for anything that might provide warmth. Instead he found a lot of drenched shirts and shorts as the bag had absorbed the water and was now leaking inside.

Throwing the bag away out of the small cavern in fury, Merlin's body trembled beneath him as he tried to savour up the last of his body heat.

"Arthur... I'm sorry," Merlin mumbled as he eyes began to force themselves shut.

*

Arthur ran all the way back to the dining room where everyone was still gathered. How could Merlin be so stupid!? Didn't the idiot realise that was dangerous wandering through the forest at night, right in the middle of a storm? No, of course he didn't!

Frantically pushing the door open, Arthur dashed inside to where Morgana and the others still sat, chatting away.

"Merlin's... he's gone," he gasped, trying to regain his breath as keeled over suddenly feeling nauseous.

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Morgana queered after laughing at one of Lancelot's jokes.

"Are you deaf or just stupid?" Arthur snapped. "Merlin's gone, as in he's no longer occupies his cabin."

"Maybe he just went to have a shower or something," Gwen stated, which only fuelled Arthur's anger.

"Argh! You're not listening! Do you need me to get the nurse to clean out your ears?" Arthur was yelling at this point, and everyone in the room including his father and the other teachers, were looking at him. If looks could kill everyone in the room would have been reduced to dust. Arthur was sick of explaining.

"Calm down, surely he-"Arthur didn't let his stepsister finish and instead he reached inside his pocket and shoved Merlin's letter into her face.

"Read it," he ordered in a tone that he hoped Morgana would understand as 'not fooling around'.

"What on earth is going on?" Uther stood up from the other end of the dining room table and walked over towards his son.

"Merlin and all his stuff is gone," Arthur replied feel his chest tighten at the thought of Merlin being alone out in the middle of a storm.

"How do you know this? I thought you no longer wished to have anything to do with the boy," Uther crossed his arms as he stared down upon him.

Arthur paused as he tried to think of a reasonable answer to give his father, one that didn't involve him telling Uther about the letter Merlin had given him.

"I went to check how he was feeling," Arthur stated off warily. "But when I entered the room, Merlin and all his stuff were gone."

It was the truth, just not the entire truth, but it was good enough for the time being. Uther cursed under his breath before looking at everyone in the room.

"I'm sorry Arthur, but this is out of my hands. It's too dangerous to go out to look for him. If I did, I would only be endangering the lives of everyone else; they are my responsibility. It is not my fault that some stupid boy decided to go wandering through a storm, " Uther didn't sound as if he cared very much, and already Arthur could feel his fists clenching tight. Not just for his father, but for Nimueh and Valiant who were snickering quietly to themselves further down the table.

"And you two can shut the hell up!" Morgana snapped harshly as Arthur noticed she had finished reading the letter, and was now folding it up and putting it in her pocket.

"If you won't help me find him, I'll do it without you," Arthur raised his voice and turned around, only for his father's hand to grip him tightly on the shoulder.

"I will not tolerate being spoken to like that, do you understand?" Uther growled, squeezing even tighter than he already was.

Arthur didn't respond verbally, instead he pushed his father's hand off his shoulder violently, taking a few steps back until the door was pressing up against his back.

"Arthur, don't you dare go out there. You are to remain inside, do you hear me?" Uther warned walking towards him.

"Make me," Arthur scowled before gripping the door handle and rushing outside into the icy rain.

No one else was going to help, Uther had made that quite clear, which meant it was up to Arthur, and Arthur alone, to find Merlin.

Once in Cabin Four, Arthur began scrambling around the room for some warm clothes to wear. Slipping on a pair of jeans over his shorts and putting on a lightweight raincoat, he closed the cabin door behind him and began frantically yelling out Merlin's name into the darkness.

He could be anywhere and everywhere, what if he hurt himself? No, Arthur couldn't think like that, not now. All that mattered was finding Merlin safe, but how was he supposed to do that when he couldn't even see past his very face.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted as rain threatened to blind him, the trees rocking violently from where they stood. "Where are you?"

It was no use; there was no way Arthur would be able to find Merlin in this weather. Maybe it would have been a good idea to stay in the dining room after all? But where was the dining hall? Turning around Arthur realised that he had no idea which direction to go in to find his way back. He knew the outskirts of Camelot by memory... in daylight that is, everything looked so much different in the dark.

Feelings of hopelessness and despair surged through Arthur's mind as he continued running blind in any direction, praying that Merlin would be just ahead of him, but each time he would find nothing but more rain and darkness.

Out of breath, Arthur stopped running in an attempt to catch it. There was no way he was going to be able to find Merlin in time. It was an impossible task.

*

"We can't just stand here!" Morgana yelled at Uther.

"This is Arthur's choice, so I will _not_ take responsibility for his actions," her stepfather replied in a cold and uncaring tone.

"So you would allow Arthur and Merlin to die in the storm, while you stay in here like a coward?" Morgana stood directly in front of Uther, staring her father down with a deathly glare hoping he would take the bait... he didn't.

"Say what you will, Morgana, but I will not endanger the lives of everyone here," Uther scowled, his eyes filled with anger.

"And yet you would risk your son's death?" Morgana crossed her arms, fully aware of how loud she was speaking.

"For the sake of everyone else, indeed I would," her stepfather admitted sitting down with the rest of the teachers, indicating that he no longer wished to argue on the matter.

Morgana didn't know what to do, there was no way she'd get away with running after Arthur. If she tried Uther would undoubtably stop her.

Pulling Merlin's letter out of her pocket, Morgana skimmed over it once more as the anger set in. No wonder Merlin had been acting so different lately, not to mention his reluctance to tell anyone why he'd broken up with Arthur.

Nimueh and Valiant chuckled from further down the table, and instantly Morgana began imagining throwing knives at them. The thought did occur that there were knives in the kitchen, and that she could always turn fantasy into reality. Oh the pleasure she would have doing so! For now, however, she was more worried about her stepbrother and Merlin somewhere out in the storm.

Rain pelted harder upon the tin roof, the sound echoing throughout the dining hall until Morgana could no longer hear herself think.

"What's that?" Gwen asked, pointing at the note she still held in her hand.

Passing the letter to Gwen, she began to read it carefully. Morgana watched as Gwen's eyes widen in shock the more she read until she gave it back to her.

"I can't believe it..." Gwen declared, eyes flickering down the table until they met Nimueh's, who was no longer laughing, and was now staring at the three of them with a panicked look upon her face.

"Believe what?" Lancelot asked scratching his head.

"Nimueh. She blackmailed Merlin into breaking up with Arthur," Morgana whispered so no one would be able to hear except them.

"They _what_?" Lancelot spat, doing his best not to turn and look at the Valiant and Nimueh.

"No wonder he's been acting so strange," Gwen pointed out before grabbing her empty glass and pouring water in it.

Morgana sighed before running her fingers through her hair. Glancing out the window into the storm, for the first time in her life she prayed to the gods that Arthur and Merlin would survive the night.

*

Cold. So cold. Merlin could no longer feel his legs as they brushed up against the rock inside the cavern.

Lightning shot through the sky faster than Merlin could blink, quickly covering his ears as the thunder got louder and louder within each passing minute.

"Arthur," Merlin kept repeating his name weakly into the night, until his throat was dry and hoarse and his eyelids could no longer remain open. No one was going to come, he was going to die out here tonight and it was entirely his fault.

*

"Merlin!" Arthur continued shouting out as he began running again. Looking at the ground, Arthur began searching for any tracks that might indicate if Merlin had been in this direction. Much to his annoyance, any tracks that may have existed had been washed away by the rain.

Somewhere in the darkness, Arthur heard a voice. It was faint, but there it was, repeating the same thing over and over again.

"Ar-thur..." the familiar voice repeated weakly.

"Merlin!? Where are you?" Arthur shouted at the top of his lungs, but there was no reply, just the constant sound of thunder bellowing throughout the sky.

Rushing to a small opening, Arthur stopped and began turning in circles while he tried to decide which way to go. As lightning flashed across the sky, a semi-large object to his right caught Arthur's attention.

He ran through the mud until he reached the darkened object. Another flash of lightning and Arthur suddenly realised what it was; Merlin's bag.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted out into the darkness until a faint reply echo back.

"Ar-thur..." came Merlin's voice from somewhere behind him.

Turning around he began surveying the forest until he saw a large group of rocks. Another flash of lightning, even closer now, disappeared just behind the nearby mountains, illuminating the rocks and a figure hiding inside a small cavern.

Instantly Arthur recognised who it was and skidded through the mud until Merlin was only inches away from him.

"Merlin it's okay. I'm here now. You didn't honestly think you would get away from me that easily, did you?" Arthur whispered with a light chuckle as he crammed inside the cavern with Merlin.

"So-sorry," he stuttered as his eyes flickered beneath their lids.

His clothes were soaking wet, not to mention he was shivering uncontrollably. Arthur glanced down as he examined Merlin's body to see a semi-deep gash trailing down his leg. Grabbing a decent sized part of the bottom of his jeans, Arthur ripped them until he had a long strip, tying it around Merlin's wounded leg to apply pressure.

Placing his hand against Merlin's face, Arthur flinched at how cold his skin was.

"Oh god, you're freezing," Arthur pointed out as a shot of lightning illuminated Merlin's face, causing his eyes to flash a strange gold colour for a brief moment.

Tracing his index finger along Merlin's lips, he couldn't help but notice they were blue in the little light he had.

"You need to get rid of those clothes, you've got hyperthermia Merlin," Arthur gripped the bottom of Merlin's drenched shirt and struggled to get it off in the little room he had. Throwing it outside the cavern, Arthur removed his rain jacket and dry shirt, lifting Merlin's arms up so he could place it on.

"You-you'll freeze though," Merlin complained as he allowed Arthur to place the dry shirt on him. Arthur then put the rain jacket back on himself, providing himself some protection from the freezing temperature.

"I'd rather freeze and know that you're safe," Arthur shivered as he pulled Merlin in close, sharing his body heat with him until their faces were only inches apart. Pressing his lips up against Merlin's, Arthur's hands began to move up and down, and eventually, all over their bodies.

A few minutes later, Arthur stopped and wrapped his hands about Merlin's stomach, allowing his head to rest up against his chest.

"I love you," Arthur whispered in Merlin's ear as his blood pounded through his ears. "And I promise I'll never let anything happen to you again"

Arthur raised his hand and began brushing his fingers through his hair, not letting Merlin out of his sight until morning.

_To be continued..._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **_So, I hope that wasn't so bad... I'm sort of really stressing about this chapter because half of it was just me ranting so I could boost up my word count, so please don't be angry at me if it was 99% horrible. Reviews are loved, and at long last the next and possible final chapter will involve much fun for myself; in other words Nimueh and Valiant bashing. *insert evil manical laughter here* Reviews are loved. _


	11. Revenge Is Sweet

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Merlin, well, technically I do, just not in a reality sense. Take it as you will. *insert manical laughter here*_

**A/N: **_So first off I'd like to apologize to all of you for such a long time since I last updated, but I have a resonable excuse! Halfway through last week, my glasses had to have their lenses changed. Originally they were supposed to come back the following day, but due to a damn postal strike (Damn you Australia Post!) they didn't arrive. So currently I'm blind until tomorrow, and just writing one hundred words or less has been very hard as I can hardly see the computer screen now as I... ah... type. But here we are! The second last chapter - yes, I gave in to all of you who wished for two more, so here you go, Reviews are loved and enjoy!_

* * *

As the sky cleared allowing the morning rays to penetrate down through the foliage, and the final drops of water slithered down the leaves onto the ground, Arthur placed Merlin's hand around his shoulder and his own around Merlin's waist as they made their way back to Camelot.

Everything was so much clearer in the daytime, which gave Arthur a better idea of where he was, and which direction Camelot was.

"Aren't you cold?" Merlin asked, indicating the rain jacket and his drenched jeans.

Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes at the dark haired boy, "What do you think _Mer_lin?"

"I take it that's a yes then?" Merlin whispered, stumbling slightly on his own feet.

"No, I'm fine. You on the other hand..." he trailed off as he examined the boy's wounds in the daylight. The gash on his leg had stopped bleeding and had clotted up much to Arthur's relief, and Merlin was no longer shivering due to the excessive chilliness of the storm.

"I'm better, thanks to you," Merlin smiled as he leant over to whisper in Arthur's ear in a low seductive voice that Arthur had come to like. "Especially after what you did last night to keep me warm."

"Shut up," Arthur replied in defence, trying his best not to smile.

"We should do it more often," Merlin stopped for a moment just as Camelot came into view.

"Only if you promise that you won't run off on me again," he stopped and turned Merlin around until blue eyes met blue. Pulling Merlin closer, Arthur brought their lips together gently until they only just touched.

Merlin couldn't help but groan, somewhere between arousal and frustration, when he slipped his tongue into the dark haired boy's mouth.

"Prat," Merlin grumbled, whisking his hand around to the back of Arthur's head, pulling him closer.

"You love it," Arthur replied with a smug grin on his face after they parted.

Walking down the dirt path, Arthur couldn't help but notice the damage the storm had done. Bushes had been torn out of the ground all the way down to their roots, tree branches drooped from above; one light breeze and they would no doubt fall down and hit anything that dared walk underneath it.

Dozens of eyes followed their movements them from the dining hall window's as Arthur supported Merlin down the path, until he pushed the door open, a warm heat coming from the fire they had going inside.

"Arthur! Merlin!" Gwen shrieked in relief, running over towards and hugging both them both.

"Ouch," Merlin whined as she gripped him even tighter than she had Arthur.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized, releasing her grip almost instantly. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I'm fine," he replied with a bright smile that could power a city for a week, sitting down upon the wooden bench. Arthur was almost tempted to steal that smile then and there in front of everyone, but contained those feelings for a later date, mostly because his father was standing up and walking over towards him.

"I warned you not to go out there," he snapped, grabbing Arthur's wrist violently. "You could have been killed, if not worse!"

For a brief moment Arthur was almost tempted to break his father's grasp and walk out of the hall then and there, but what good would it achieve? He would only end up being lectured again once the camp was over.

"Forgive me father, I won't do it again," Arthur lowered his head, speaking through gritted teeth.

"You better damn well not," Uther let go of his arm and stared at Merlin who was now talking to Gwen and Morgana looking extremely anxious. "I'd like you to come with me and see the nurse to check you two over, if you don't mind, just to be on the safe side."

"Yes father," Arthur said and helped ease Merlin off the bench, doing his best not to hurt him while placing Merlin's arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks," Merlin smiled again, discreetly, only for Arthur to smile back. In the corner of his eye, Arthur noticed a slim figure rise up from the table and begin to make her way over.

"Oh, excuse me," Nimueh giggled as she walked towards Uther. "But I've been meaning to tell you-"

She never got to finish her sentence; Morgana quickly stood up and placed her hand over Nimueh's mouth, silencing her for the time being.

"That we wish to return to our cabins," Morgana finished, her hand still covering the squirming Nimueh. "We are ever so tired after staying up all night for the storm to pass," she fake yawned to add to the effect.

"If you must," Uther said waving his hand dismissively. Ignoring Nimueh who was flailing her arms about like a mad woman. "You two, come with me"

Uther and the nurse quickly left the hall and made their way towards the nurse's office, situated directly opposite the administration building.

As Arthur went to leave, he quickly let go of Merlin and leaned him against the wall, walking over towards Nimueh who Morgana had just released.

"How dare you apprehend me!" she shrieked, glaring intensely at Morgana. "I have rights, you cannot stop me from speaking. This is a free country, I have a voice!"

"And an irritating one at that," Arthur growled, towering over Nimueh who had her arms crossed in frustration.

"Scary, what are you going to do?" Nimueh laughed to herself, Valiant stayed well clear in the back corner, watching everything from afar.

All Arthur's rage gathered up into one clenched fist as it was slowly raised into the air. "Well, I was thinking about punching you."

"Oh, Arthur. I know you would never hit a girl," she laughed, lightly grabbing his clenched fist and lowering it as he contemplated what she had said.

"I guess you're right; I would never hit you," he sighed looking over towards Morgana.

"See? Now, if you'll excuse me, there's something I wish to tell your father," Nimueh attempted to push past Arthur, but he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her down onto the table.

"I guess I'll have to rephrase that," Arthur stared down at the petrified Nimueh. "_I _would never hit you, but that doesn't mean someone else won't."

Arthur and Morgana exchanged glances, signalling her, as evil grins broadened on both of their faces.

"Yeah, right," Nimueh snorted as Arthur released his grip from her neck.

Everyone left in the hall, including Gaius, Morgause and Anguis who were all watching from the end of the table, all watched the event unfold before them. No one really had any idea what this entire ordeal was all about, but they had a basic idea that whatever it was, Nimueh was in for it bad. Strangely enough, no one seemed concerned by this.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get Merlin to the nurse's office. Morgana, would you mind taking it from here?" Arthur asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. Nimueh looked to from Arthur to Morgana in horror while attempting to flee by walking backwards, only to bump into the bench.

Striding across the room, somewhat happily, Arthur helped Merlin get his balance once again.

"What are you doing?" Merlin whispered into his ear as they made their way out the door.

"Getting revenge for you and myself," Arthur mused.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because _Mer_lin, revenge is oh so sweet and you're just completely adorable," Arthur laughed and the two made their way to the nurse's office, as a shriek of pain echoed out from the dining hall.

*

With one swift and dramatic stride, Morgana couldn't help but grin tauntively right before mustering up all her energy in her right hand, slapping Nimueh fast and hard across the face. The blow was so powerful that it knocked Nimueh off her feet, and a bruise could already be seen forming.

"_That's_ for blackmailing my brother's boyfriend," Morgana hissed, pulling her forward until they were face to face again. Not holding back, she then punched the terrified girl directly in the face, blood slowly began trickling from her nose all the way down to her lips.

"_That's_ for breaking my brother's heart," Morgana didn't honestly care that everyone around her was staring in amazement as she continued lashing out at the blackmailing cow. Even the teachers stared in shock, but not once did they stand up to stop them.

"_This_ is for breaking Merlin's heart," aiming carefully, Morgana slammed her foot down elegantly onto Nimueh's, she then began howling in pain as she jumped up and down clutching her foot. This gave Morgana the perfect opportunity to slam her fist into her stomach.

"_That_ was for good measure!" Morgana took pleasure to see Nimueh keeled over, clutching her stomach in pain as her bleeding nose got worse every second. The blood began oozing down onto the pristine shirt she was wearing.

Yanking at the back of the blackmailer's hair, Morgana smiled gently into her fear filled eyes before pushing her face forward, slamming it down onto the table. A distinct crack followed and Nimueh shrieked in agony as she collapsed to the floor clutching her broken nose.

"And _that_ was from me," Morgana whispered into Nimueh's ear coldly, before turning dramatically and walking away feeling quite proud of herself.

Just so she could get into the action, Gwen tottered forward from where she was standing, beside Lancelot, and kicked Nimueh in the shin.

"What was that for you cow!?" Nimueh said, crying tears of pain.

"Because..." a pause, and then she gave up, "Just because."

"If you say one word to Uther, I will do more than break your nose," Morgana smiled an utterly dazzling smile that spoke multitudes to all who dared look.

Morgana was tempted to do the same to Valiant also, who happened to be staggering cautiously into the kitchen looking like a frightened rabbit. But of course it wasn't up to Morgana to have all the fun; the boys must have their fair share later on after all.

"She did have it coming for her," Morgause whispered quietly to the other teachers.

"Destiny tends to do that when you least expect it," Anguis said with a soft laughter. "You can never escape it."

"I must admit, she did deserve it," Gaius agreed, raising his eyebrow to an unbelievably high altitude, considering whether or not he should help the not-so-innocent girl with the bloody nose.

In the end he decided it was best to let things take their own course.

*

After the nurse had taken their temperature and vital signs, she gave the all clear to Arthur who was beginning to develop a cold, but nothing more. Merlin, on the other hand, still had a pretty decent concussion and was suffering from sleep deprivation, but other than that, he was perfectly fine. _That_ was something Arthur was certain of.

"Next time you should listen to what I say, instead of disobeying my orders," Uther muttered harshly into Arthur's ear, on the opposite side of the room to Merlin.

"What did you expect me to do? Let Merlin die out there in the middle of the storm?" Arthur replied, staring directly into his father's eyes.

"At first, yes I did," Uther admitted with his arms crossed. "If you haven't forgotten, you told me you wished to have nothing to do with that boy only a few nights ago."

"Things change," Arthur glanced over towards Merlin and smiled briefly when the nurse gave him some caffeine pills to keep him awake.

"I can see that," Uther retorted before gripping his son tightly on the shoulder. "Hear me now, as I shall this once and only once. You know my... beliefs, and if anything is going on between you and Merlin, it is to end this very moment. Do you understand?"

Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes in amusement; surely he couldn't know about him and Merlin... surely. After all, it wasn't that obvious, was it? Just to be on the safe side Arthur decided to laugh at his father's remark, disregarding what he had just said.

"Nothing is happening between us," Arthur lied convincingly. "I was just worried about him, that's all."

"Good," Uther sounded relieved at Arthur's response, even being kind enough to let go of his shoulder which now ached madly with pain. "Now, if you excuse me, I must go examine the damage made by the storm."

On that final note, Uther left the nurses office to check up on the campground. Little did he know that a tree had fallen on his own personal cabin, damaging it beyond repair… _but that's a completely different and irrelevant subplot. However, the tree, nicknamed 'stumpy', may make a guest star appearance some other time. _

For a moment, Arthur could have sworn there was a little voice in his head talking about trees, but ignored it to go help Merlin up off the bed now that the nurse had finished examining him.

"How are you feeling?" Arthur asked softly, looking deep into Merlin's calming blue eyes as the nurse turned around to put her stethoscope in a cabinet

"Sore, tired, bored, and completely head-over-heels in love with a certain prat," Merlin whispered into Arthur's ear, leaning in for a quick kiss on the cheek before the nurse turned around.

"That's funny, because I could say almost the same thing," Arthur chuckled placing Merlin's hand over his shoulder once more as the nurse finally closed the cabinet and turned around.

"Now," she began sounding like a deflating balloon. "I need you to stay away from physical activity for the next few days. It seems the phone lines won't be back up until you're supposed to go home, so I'm going to have to ask Arthur to keep an eye out for you until then. Is that okay with you?" she directly her gaze to Arthur, sighing exceedingly loud.

"Sure thing," Arthur replied probably way too quickly than he should have, but to be honest he didn't care in the slightest. All that mattered was Merlin was safe and with him once again.

As they hobbled down the dirt path, Arthur couldn't help but notice Nimueh who ran past crying, her hand covering her very bloody nose.

"Oh good job, Morgana," Arthur mused to himself, seriously wishing he had stayed behind to watch the show.

Everyone was now dispersing from the dining hall and towards their cabins to get a bit of a rest after the storm. Deciding not to return to his own cabin for some rest, Arthur went with Merlin to Cabin Three where they could chat with Lancelot when he arrived.

Once inside, Arthur effortlessly placed Merlin upright on the bed, making sure he wouldn't go to asleep for the time being. After a few moments of awkward silence, both gave up waiting for the other person to make the move and clashed their lips together.

Hands wandered uncontrollably until the point where Arthur could no longer hold back his moans, as Merlin's hand had found its way to his crutch.

"You are such a damn tease," Arthur mumbled before Merlin parted his lips, allowing tongues to collide and slide over one another until the need for oxygen was too great and they both moved away, panting heavily.

"I love you," Merlin grinned as Arthur lay back on Merlin's bed, only for Merlin to lay on top of his chest.

"So adorable," Lancelot remarked as he leant back against the cabin door.

"How long have you been there for?" Merlin's blush slowly crept up his neck, eventually stopping once it had reached the very tips of his ears.

"Long enough to realise I should probably leave you two alone," Lancelot smiled and opened up the cabin door, revealing Valiant, who unfortunately happened to be walking past at that current point of time.

"_You!_" Arthur exclaimed, literally jumping off the bed and racing out the door towards Valiant, who was backing up against a tree in horror. Without saying a word, Arthur raised his clenched fist and slammed it directly into Valiant's gut, followed by a heavy knee to his groin. The pleasure Arthur took seeing Valiant clutching his manhood in agony as he slowly withered down onto the ground, was indescribable. "If you want to keep your pride and joy, I suggest you _never_ speak or touch my boyfriend again, that is, unless you want me to rip off your favourite appendage."

For a while, all Valiant did was roll around on the ground in agony, making no attempt to reply whatsoever. It was only then that Lancelot walked up beside Arthur and joined in, making the pain even worse by driving his foot down upon Valiant's crutch, pressing down until Valiant was screaming.

"Do you understand?" Lancelot mocked, pressing down a little harder as Valiant tried to unsuccessfully free himself.

"Yes, yes, _yes!" _Valiant kept repeating desperately, until Lancelot finally removed his foot, and almost instantly he got up and ran down the path towards Cabin Four.

"And let _that_ be a lesson to you!" Merlin yelled out cheerfully just as Valiant closed the door behind himself.

Without hesitating, Arthur turned around and walked up to Merlin, pushing him back inside the cabin and shoving him up against the wall where he began planting kisses on any bare patch of skin he could find.

He was beautiful and that was all Arthur could really comprehend as Merlin's unnatural steel blue eyes stared into his. For the first time in his life, Arthur had finally found someone he truly loved, and no one was ever going to get in the way of that. Ever.

Lancelot, who was standing at the door, decided best to leave them alone and to forget everything he had just seen. Well, as much as your mind allows, especially when strange noises of passion bellowed from within the cabin as Lancelot closed the door and hurried away towards the dining hall, allowing the two boys to have their long deserved moment.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N: **_*sobs* One chapter to go, I hope this one lived up to you people's expectations! If not... I'm very sorry, but I blaim my lack of glasses and Australia Post (there fault, not mine and I'm sticking with that excuse for as long as I can get away with it) I hope you enjoyed, and reviews are always loved but I won't start writing until I get my glasses back as I've got a massive headache now from just writing this chapter alone. _


	12. Giving and Taking

**Disclaimer: **_I cry at night because I don't own Merlin, but who knows, maybe one day I will. _

**A/N: **_Dear faithful readers, the time has come for me to say fairwell to this story as this is the final chapter. I know it's a bit short, but I hope that you love it nevertheless and how I ended it. Either way, I'm so glad that many of you have stuck with me through to the end, even with my evil angst side commiting acts that had you all scared at some point. But as I'm a nice person, here is that happy ending I promise you all, and I hope you are content with it. Oh, and I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter, but during the time I didn't have my glasses, I made a Merlin/Arthur video, and It'd be great to know what you guys think of that also. The link is: __www(dot)vimeo(dot com)/8235219_ But you don't have to look at it if you don't want to. Anyway, enjoy, and I love you all as I'm about to reach my first 200 review mark ever. =)

* * *

Hours turned into days quicker than Merlin had even the chance to blink, and before he knew what was going on, it was the final morning. Already people were beginning to pack their belongings into bags, shoving them in the undercarriage of the bus before heading to the dining hall to have their last meal together.

Well, that's what it felt like to Merlin anyway. His final meal with Arthur and he most likely wouldn't see him very often, and it felt terrible.

"If you don't eat your breakfast, I'll have to force feed you," Arthur said with a distinct tone of seriousness, and almost immediately Merlin began shoving fruit loops into his mouth until the bowl was spotless.

"Good boy," Arthur mocked, running his fingers through Merlin's hair before ruffling it until hair stuck up in every direction possible, and some not.

"I am not a dog," Merlin said, not able to contain his laughter. This was unfortunate for Arthur as a fruit loop left Merlin's mouth and flew directly into Arthur's face.

"I believe this is yours," Arthur grabbed the fruit loop and chucked it back at him. With precise accuracy, Merlin manoeuvred himself in the direct line of fire to the projectile object. Opening his mouth, he caught the fruit loop in midflight and swallowed, licking his lips in triumphant.

"Delicious," Merlin rubbed his belly, taking pleasure in the stunned Arthur who quickly looked away, muttering something along the lines of 'show off' under his breath.

Once everyone had finished their 'last meal' as Merlin liked to put it, Uther and the other teachers started going through all the cabins, making sure they were perfectly clean before locking them.

Not many people spoke as the slumped onto the bus in a single file, having their names ticked off to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Merlin found a good spot against the window somewhere between the front and the middle of the bus, far away from everyone else who had thankfully seated themselves all the way down the back.

It was embarrassing at first, but Arthur had seated himself next to Merlin – well, it was more like on top of him, but Merlin honestly wasn't going to complain about that – while Gwen and Morgana sat directly opposite them on the other side of the bus.

"Can I please get your attention," Uther cleared his throat as he stood up at the front of the bus. "May I take this opportunity to say that your stay here was an _interesting_ experience for many of us, I can assure you," his emphasis on 'interesting' seemed to be directed towards Merlin, but only for a second. "I hope you've enjoyed the time you spent here, and made many lifelong friends. Also..."

Arthur groaned beside him, right before leaning forward and resting his head on the back of the chair in front.

"Every year it's the same damn speech," was what Merlin thought Arthur said, but he had his face buried in the chair, which muffled his voice slightly.

Sighing, Merlin closed his eyes and listened to Uther's speech for the next five minutes until the bus roared into life.

As the bus slowly rolled down the never ending road, twisting and turning through the forest, they eventually passed under the wooden sign and onto the highway. It was both a blessing, and a sad thought to Merlin as in half an hour or less, he wouldn't see Arthur for who knows how long.

Something solid squeezed his thigh and, looking down, Merlin realised it was Arthur's hand lightly squeezing it as he smiled gently at the dark haired boy.

"Aren't you worried someone might see you?" Merlin whispered, trying to prevent himself from moaning as Arthur's hand slowly moved up his thigh.

"Not really," Arthur responded before moving his hand away, taking a quick glance over the seats towards his father, then the back of the bus before leaning in and brushing his lips ever so tenderly against Merlin's.

Morgana and Gwen, who must have been watching at the time, squealed as Arthur moved away and pretended that nothing had happened. Arthur glared at his stepsister.

'You two are so cute,' Morgana mouthed at them as a blush crawled up Merlin's neck and on instinct, he turned and looked out the window so no one would notice.

Besides that, the bus trip was relatively quiet, even after Merlin discreetly interlocked his right hand with Arthur's between the seats and fell asleep on the blonde, only furthering his embarrassment once he woke up.

"We're here..." Arthur spoke softly, much to Merlin's relief as everything seemed to be amplified to the power of ten.

As everyone alighted from the bus, Merlin spotted his mother waiting patiently outside, jangling her car keys until he walked down the steps carefully and into her arms for a hug.

"Oh my god, what in the world happened to you?" she asked, examining the bump on his head.

"Long story," Merlin admitted, smiling slightly before going over to help remove the bags from the undercarriage. Once he managed to grab his own bag, he waited for Arthur to get his and they walked away from the group and ducked down a side street where they wouldn't be seen by anyone.

"I'm..." Merlin couldn't help but cry a tear as he embraced Arthur tightly, burying his face into the blondes shoulder, inhaling as much of his scent as possible. "I'm going to miss you."

"Don't cry, it makes you look like a girl," Arthur commented, before raising Merlin's face away from his shoulder, and pressing their lips together sloppy and awkwardly. Eventually Merlin found his tongue being sucked into Arthur's open mouth, memorising every nock and cranny until they broke apart, foreheads resting against one another.

"I know it's hard that we go to different schools, but we can always get together on the weekends if you'd like," Arthur said, gently brushing his lips up against Merlin's for a final time.

"I'd... I'd like that," Merlin's mouth curved upwards until it hurt, but to be honest, he didn't care in the slightest.

Opening his bag, he searched for Lancelot's notebook and pen which he realised he still had. Scribbling his phone number and address on a blank page, he gave it to Arthur.

"I promise to call as soon as I get home," Arthur said, folding the paper and depositing it into his jeans pocket.

Hugging Arthur for the final time, they returned back around the corner where everyone was still grabbing their bags, and or, talking to their parents.

"Could you look after my bag for a moment while I give this back to Lancelot?" Merlin asked, showing the notebook to Arthur.

"Sure," Arthur grabbed the bag from Merlin, and quickly rushed over to Lancelot who was now chatting – or flirting, take your pick – with Gwen.

"I believe this is yours," Merlin passed the notebook to Lancelot who took it, looked at it briefly, and passed it back to him.

"You keep it, there's plenty more where that came from," he stated, securing his bag around his shoulder.

"Really?" Merlin asked somewhat confused.

"Yep. It now belongs to you," Lancelot answered. "See you around, Merlin." With that, Lancelot wandered away with his hand placed around Gwen's waist, chatting the entire way until they reached Gwen's father's car. Merlin was quite surprised to see Lancelot hop into the car after Gwen, but shrugged at the thought and walked back over to Arthur to collect his bag.

For a moment, Merlin could have sworn he'd seen Arthur close his bag rather quickly, but decided it was just his imagination running wild and grabbed it back off Arthur.

"Weren't you supposed to be giving Lancelot back that thing?" Arthur asked curiously, indicating the notebook which he was still holding.

"He said I could have it," Merlin replied with a shrug.

"Arthur!" Uther shouted over the top of everyone. "Hurry up! If you're not over here in two minutes we're leaving without you!"

"Sorry, I better get going," Arthur said rolling his eyes, giving Merlin a quick hug before dashing after his father, who was hopping inside a taxi.

Wandering over towards Hunith, Merlin couldn't help but feel as if half of himself was missing, but ignored it as much as possible.

"Maybe I should have listened to you after all," Hunith said, obviously noticing the slight limp Merlin had from his leg wound. It wasn't as bad now, and it already had healed pretty well, but it still was fairly painful to walk.

"Nah," Merlin said with a slightly chuckle, following his mother towards their car. "I actually thoroughly enjoyed myself," he continued, smiling excessively as he saw Nimueh walking past, her nose covered with a strip of plaster to stop it from breaking any further.

Placing his bag next to him in the back seat, Merlin buckled his seatbelt up and waited for Hunith to start up the engine.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time," Hunith said, as the car rolled forward and onto the road.

Suddenly realising he still had the notebook in his hand, Merlin decided to shove in into his bag until they got home. Opening it up, he couldn't help but scratch his head at the small piece of paper that happened to be lying on the very top.

Unfolding it, Merlin realised it was a note, and suddenly he found himself reading every word with equal intensity.

_Merlin,_

_So, I'm writing this while you're asleep beside me, sorry, I borrowed a page out of the notebook you had on the floor. It was kind of Lancelot to swap cabins so I could be with you, and I'm glad he did because I can't help but feel lost without you by my side._

_I realise that, once camp's over, who knows when I'll get the opportunity to see you again, so if I was sneaky enough, there should be a little present for you in your bag. _

Present? Merlin quickly looked in his bag to find a red neckerchief lying on the very top, directly underneath from where the letter had been. With the neckerchief in one hand, Merlin continued reading the letter.

_It's not much, and it certainly isn't new, as I bought it ages ago, but only wore it once because it just didn't seem to suit me. That's why I'd like you to have it. I think it'd suit you. _

_Just as you asked me to remember you, there's one thing I'd like you to do for me until the next time we meet. When, or if, you wear it, remember me also. _

_With you always,_

_Arthur _

Putting down the letter, Merlin ran the red neckerchief between his fingers, before placing it around his neck and tying it off at the back.

Struggling to see his reflection in the rear-view mirror, Merlin couldn't help but admit Arthur was right, it did suit him.

Lowering himself down into the seat, Merlin's body relaxed as a smile spread across his face at the thought that, no matter where he went, a piece of Arthur would always be with him.

Even when they were apart.

_fin._

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**A/N: **_See! Happy ending, I promised you that It'd be happy! Okay, so I would like to do a sequel in the future, but currently I have a damn plot bunny involving __reincarnation; but not the typical modern day one, it actually has a plot line that hasn't been done before! Which I look forward to writing it, so in the near future, if you're interested, keep an eye out for it. Until then, reviews are loved and I hope you enjoyed this story. =)_


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